We're back with the star of the new movie, Tick-Tick Boom. Andrew Garfield. Well, last time you were here, you were talking about how you've been cast in the new film, Tick-Tick Boom, directed by Lynn Manuel Miranda, and that it's. You have to sing in it. It's musical. And that you are not a singer. No. That you were unprepared, but just a friend of yours had told Lynn, oh, he has a voice of an angel. Yeah, he lied. And so, cast you. But then you had cast you had to go do it. Yeah. So, what was that like to finally open your mouth and sing these songs? Yeah. And was it in front of Lynn for the first time, or was it just like a read through? Lynn's amazing, because he's the kind of person that can see you better than you can see yourself. So he'd see me on stage in Angels in America. And he'd said to me, I think you can sing. And I was like, I don't. I think you may be wrong.
And he was like, no, trust me. Whoever gave you that idea that you couldn't do things, I want to have a stone word with them. He was that kind of a vancula kind of caring mentor figure. And he gave me some time with Liz Kaplan, who I know you have a dear friend. An amazing singing coach, and she kind of gave me the confidence to start doing it. And I was. It was about a month or so into my preparation, I was singing with another person, Kaur Krawli, at the piano, just working on the first number of the film in private, because I was like, no one come in, because this is me naked in here vocally. Not literally. I wasn't singing naked. But it may. I mean, this could have been. It would have. It would have. It would have helped. It's theatre. It's theatre. It's the theatre community, baby. Sure. You know how we do it.
And then Lynn had snuck in in the back of the room. The bastard. The first thing I knew was that he was there was his shoe flew across my face, while I was in the middle of the first phrase of this song. And I looked around and it was him looking at me angrily happily, and he said, Andrew Garfield, you can sing! I don't have to recast you! And he was so relieved, and it was the shoe of Joy, the shoe of Bliss. And that was that. We were kind of off to the races from there. Well, these songs are not easy that you do in this. You have one song we have to quickly sing. The names of 14 roommates that the characters had? Yeah. So yeah, John Larson, he was living in the East Village, and he was an artist's apartment, and he had like this kind of. Role-Cell. Role-Cell. Role-Cell. Role-Cell. Role-Cell of roommates that would come through, and it was just in like 14 people in just four years. Like, you know how it is when you're a kid trying to make it in the big city.
So yeah, he lists the name of. Oh, like as many roommates, he can remember in the moment in this. Can you still remember? Can you still do it? Oh, come on. I mean, that's a no, I guess. I know, okay. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. I bet your brother could do it. Oh! That's the Big Baby King would nail this. I know it. Okay, and Dad's watching. What do you need to do? Okay, I need to breathe, and I need everyone just to do this and follow my lead. And a Max and Jonathan and Caroline and Carrie. David Tim, no Tim was just a guest from June 2, January. Barger Lisa, David Susie, Steve and Joe and Sam. And Elsa, the Billpill Lecture Streamer, still is on the Lamb. Don't forget the neighbors, Michelle Angate, more life for family than the family. This is the life, bo-bo-bo-bo. This is the life, bo-bo-bo-bo. This is the life, bo-bo-bo-bo-bo. Hee-me-ya. Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh!
Oh! Larsen himself, you know, while his musicals are beloved, didn't live, unfortunately, to see the success. And I know that, you know, his. The film is dedicated to his memory. I know that you yourself have suffered great grief, just recently, with the loss of your mother. And I'm sorry for your family's loss. Thank you. And I'm wondering how doing this show or any show, how art itself helps you deal with grief. Yeah. I love talking about it, by the way. So if I cry, it's only like. It's only a beautiful thing. This is all the unexpressed love, right? The grief that will remain with us, you know, until we pass, because we didn't. We never get enough time with each other, right? No matter if someone lives till 60, 15, or, you know, 99. So I hope this grief stays with me, because it's all the unexpressed love that I didn't get to tell her. And I told her every day, we all told her every day. She was the best of us.
So for me, you know, I was able to step into this in a way where I could honor this incredible life of Jonathan Larson. And he was taken far too soon. He died at the age of 35, on the night of the first preview of rent, off Broadway at the New Theatre Workshop, some strange twist of fate that he was taking that soon. And this film is kind of to do with that. It's to do with this ticking clock that we all have, that we all know in somewhere deep down that life is sacred, life is short, and we better just be here as much as possible with each other holding on to each other.
And for me, I got to sing Jonathan Larson's unfinished song while simultaneously singing for my mother and her unfinished song. And I'm indebted to John. And I'm indebted to Lin-Manuel Miranda. I'm indebted to everyone who's brought me to this place so that I can honor the most beautiful person that I've ever experienced in my life through my art and use it as a way to heal. Use it as a way to sew up the wounds.
Because that's what we do, right? That's what we do. That's what you do every night. You sew up our wounds. You sew up our wounds. And both John and my mother were artists. And they were warriors for art. They knew the power of art. And they knew the power of leaving the world in a slightly more beautiful state than when they found it.
So thank you for letting me talk about her. And thank you for letting me talk about her with my two guys up there as well. So thank you, Steve. Thank you for sharing your life. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Steve. Thank you for sharing your life. Thank you. Thanks, God. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Tick-tick boom is available on theaters and on Netflix. Andrew Garfield, everybody. We'll be right back with Chef Jose Andres. Thank you.