Where do you go from the most intimate?
What if were partners in crime or partners insolvingcrime?
asks Garfield, sitting side-by-side with Pugh in a spacious room within Sohos chic Crosby Street Hotel.
Garfield is absent-mindedly squeezing a stress ball while Pugh appears contemplative, head resting on her hands.
How do we manage that?
Garfield responds quickly: Naturally.
They start giggling at this point, both whispering look at us conspiratorially.
Or were bank robbers, Garfield says, smiling broadly.
And were just traveling guys that will do weird heists and robberies and trick people.
I like that, Pugh says.
Yeah, some kind of adventurers.Indiana Jones-y.
Id be, like, your assistant or whatever.
Step-siblings, Garfield offers.
At this, Pugh nods her head.
We could be step-siblings.
I was quite burnt out and tired from work.
And there was some satisfaction that I was feeling, which was a new feeling.
I was like, What do I do with feelingcontent?
It was a weird experience.
So I was just kind of processing all of that.
And then I read this script and I thought, This is what Im kind ofgoing through.
He also was excited at the prospect of reuniting with Crowley, whose 2007 filmBoy Amarked Garfields film debut.
When we finished filming, it was so weird.
I mean, wed created this whole life together and we were these people together.
The more scenes that we did meant we were getting closer and closer to the end.
Crowley felt immediately that Pugh was the perfect Almut for the project.
Witnessing Pughs work up close was near spiritual for him.
Its likeThe Right Stuff,Chuck Yeager going through that sound barrier, he recalls.
I mean, watching her, shes extraordinary.
And itsalmostlike theyre not fully in control of it, but they are.
Its deeply personal stuff, which Pugh relishes bringing into the open through the film.
Garfield found the themes of the film similarly clarifying.
I just feel this urgency, he says.
I feel like Im middle-aged now.
And its like time is ticking.
I feel it more acutely thanever.
Maybe Im over halfway through.
Who knows what life has in store for me?
For all of us?
He goes on: That was the original human impulse.
Pugh looks up at this: Lets download it right now.
He has also been cast opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones in a Carl Sagan biopic.
It would appear that he is enjoying the pace of acting again.
Its like a seesaw.
Theres no place where you go, OK, Ive got it figured out, he says.
Its very lovely to get into a rhythm of being justin private.
Its a beautiful feeling.
After the Oscars two years ago, when I was nominated forTick, Tick…
Boom!, I remember the next day going for a walk with a friend, Garfield says.
He was like, How are you doing?
Im like, Oh, Im good.
The body receives it like, Daddy, Mommy approve.
And one day a parent says, Oh, thats really good.
And they put it on the fridge.
And its like, Oh my God.Ive got to now make drawings that will make it to the fridge.
Crowley describes Garfield as being driven by a divine dissatisfaction on set.
I really hope that my body is still functioning well, he begins.
Honestly, I think that as a foundation feels like a humble ask.
I dont need anything fancy.
And I want to meet new people.
Ive seen a lot.
Ive been inspired by a lot.
And Ive discovered a lot about life and myself and the world.
And I know theres so much more to know.
Im looking for where Im reinvigorated by the world.
The vice presidential debate aired the previous night, and politics were on his mind.
Its very easy to get hopeless.
And so Im hoping in the next five years to feel like humanity is worth fighting for.
Id say hes very intelligent, hes very peculiar.
Garfield interjects, laughing.
Everyone gets excitable with your peculiarities.
Thatsnice, he says, grinning with his whole face.
(You know the grin.)
Yeah, Pugh continues.
Hes just a very full, hundred-percent circle of a human.
And I think people need to be prepared for that.
Wow, thats really nice, Garfield responds, clearing his throat.
Whether youre right or wrong, it doesnt matter to me.
He takes a breath.
[Describing] to someone who Florence is, Id be like, She is full of life.
She is just chock-full of life.
She is going to make you feel like her best friend very, very quickly.
Shes going to make you feel really welcome; shes going to make you feel really, really comfortable.
She is going to be really curious about you.
Shes going to find connection and bonding with you.
Shes going to want to have fun with you.
At this point, the two of them were looking right at each other.
Josh Duboff is the author of the novelEarly Thirties, out March 18.
