The Big Picture
- Garfield’s performance in
The Social Network
humanizes Eduardo Saverin, bringing a sense of innocence and humanity to the character. - The chemistry between Garfield and Eisenberg elevates the film, showcasing the complex dynamic between Eduardo and Mark Zuckerberg.
- Garfield shines in Eduardo’s cathartic scene, delivering iconic lines with power and intensity, cementing his performance as one of the best in his career.
Andrew Garfield has come a long way since The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, he’s become a beloved, critically acclaimed actor, in film, television, and theater, earning two Oscar nominations along the way. However, one of his best performances is still his breakout role in The Social Network. Garfield brought Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin to the big screen in 2010 when David Fincher teamed up with legendary screenwriter Aaron Sorkin in a retelling of the creation of the tech conglomerate, Facebook, now known as Meta. While Jesse Eisenberg was deservingly nominated for an Oscar for his gripping performance as CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Garfield’s role remains one of the film’s greatest strengths 15 years later.
His now iconic “Sorry my Prada’s at the cleaners” scene, which even has its own Genius page, is the apex of the film, but there is so much more to Garfield’s performance than this scene. Though The Social Networkisn’t totally accurate to real events, Garfield’s Eduardo gives viewers someone to root for and sympathize with. The little details he brings to the role, how his performance complements Einsenberg’s (and vice versa) and his shining moment in that scene make Garfield’s performance one of the best in The Social Network and his career.
The Social Network
As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
- Release Date
- October 1, 2010
- Runtime
- 120
Andrew Garfield’s ‘Social Network’ Performance Is All About the Small Details
In his performance as Eduardo, Garfield brings a sense of humanity, and even innocence, to his character, due in part to the minute details that he brings to the role, like his physicality. Compared to the rigid, self-serious Mark, Eduardo is more playful and down-to-earth, best illustrated by the awkward little dance he does at Caribbean Night. The way Eduardo adjusts his body language and manner of speaking according to Mark’s mood, which he easily picks up on, is an important part of their relationship. The little details, like Eduardo’s celebratory spin when he receives a second letter from the Phoenix and the way he not-so-subtly puts his arm around Christy (Brenda Song) when Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) asks her what she wants to drink, make Eduardo feel more human and relatable.
Right before Eduardo finds out about the cease and desist letter, there’s a throwaway moment where he grabs two beers from the fridge, one for him and one for Mark. He opens them and when he starts to pass one to Mark, he finds Mark opening the fridge himself, seemingly not expecting the gesture. Just for a second, Eduardo looks a little disappointed and even offended that Mark assumed he wouldn’t grab him a beer. Eduardo plays it off and the scene continues, but this brief moment shows how these small details from Garfield contribute not only to Eduardo’s character but also to the driving force of the film: Mark and Eduardo’s relationship.
Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg Make a Great Duo
The Social Network follows a small ensemble of characters who were involved with the creation of Facebook, including Sean Parker, Divya Narendra (Max Minghella), and the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer), so Eduardo doesn’t get much solo screen time. We get to know Eduardo mainly through his interactions with Mark; and for this reason, much of Garfield’s performance hinges on his chemistry with Eisenberg. Garfield and Eisenberg’s performances complement each other perfectly, and the complex dynamic between Eduardo and Mark lies at the heart of The Social Network. The story of Facebook’s inception is framed by Mark’s two deposition hearings as he faces two lawsuits — one from Divya and the Winklevoss twins claiming Mark stole their idea, and one from Eduardo for cutting him out of the company. When the film zeroes in on Eduardo’s lawsuit, we really see how the bond between him and Mark was permanently broken when he betrayed Eduardo by diluting his shares.
In the Fall of 2003, Mark and Eduardo are best friends, though their relationship is clearly one-sided. The unbalanced nature of their friendship is only exacerbated as they launch and expand Facebook, ultimately resulting in a betrayal of Shakespearean proportions when Sean successfully comes between them. Eduardo always considered Facebook to be a joint venture with Mark, while Mark had unspoken reservations about sharing the credit with his best friend. When Mark and Eduardo are alone together, it becomes apparent how well Eduardo knows him and how his brain works, even picking up on little changes in Mark’s body language when something upsets or distracts him. When Mark is rejected by the Phoenix, one of the coveted Harvard final clubs, we see Eduardo find a way to soften the blow when he suggests that his own acceptance was “probably a diversity thing,” to which Mark agrees. After Eduardo makes the second cut, Mark feigns support with a backhanded comment that Eduardo quickly shakes off, indicating he’s used to Mark’s often insensitive snark.
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Garfield and Eisenberg work symbiotically to flesh out Eduardo and Mark’s friendship, and the deposition scenes offer even more insight into their dysfunctional relationship. During the depositions, Eduardo is cold and jaded, while Mark is bitterness personified. Even though Eduardo is suing him for hundreds of millions of dollars, Mark can’t help but nod along as Eduardo succinctly retells parts of the story, something he would have struggled to do himself. Mark can’t (or doesn’t want to) conceal his disdain for the whole deposition process, interjecting with snarky comments and pompously flexing his immense wealth and power. The deposition also allows Mark and Eduardo to tell each other, via their lawyers, things that they would never have shared otherwise, but it’s far too late for reconciliation. Garfield (who was almost cast as Mark) and Eisenberg are an impeccable duo, and their standout performances are tethered to each other, though Garfield does get one particular moment to shine on his own.
Andrew Garfield Steals the Show With This Scene
Eduardo was Mark’s best friend, right-hand man, and emotional punching bag. Tensions between Eduardo and Mark, and especially between Eduardo and Sean, put a strain on their relationship, and when Eduardo finally snaps, it’s a long time coming. We’ve seen Eduardo get flustered, annoyed, and even angry, but when he finds out his Facebook shares have been diluted to .03%, he’s pure rage. After spending so much time accommodating Mark and trying to find advertisers for the site, he’s unceremoniously ousted from the company, and this pushes him to his breaking point. Garfield commands the screen in Eduardo’s big moment of catharsis as he storms over to Mark’s desk and smashes his computer.
As dramatic as this pivotal scene is, Garfield also gets to deliver two of the most iconic lines from Sorkin’s Oscar-winning screenplay, “Sorry my Prada’s at the cleaners along with my hoodie and my fuck you flip-flops, you pretentious douchebag.” Eduardo shouts this colorful insult for all in the office to hear, but when he warns Mark, “You better lawyer up asshole, because I’m not coming back for 30%, I’m coming back for everything,” he does so in a threatening whisper. According to Garfield, he chose to whisper this line for a reason, sharing with BuzzfeedCeleb in 2021, “I wanted that line to hurt him more than if I shouted it. I wanted it to be lodged in his fucking soul.” After watching their legal teams argue from behind conference tables throughout the film, Eduardo’s rage-fueled confrontation feels like the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Even though he just got screwed out of a company he co-founded, he still leaves the building feeling vindicated.
After his breakout role in The Social NetworkGarfield went on to have a career full of stellar performances, most recently in Tick, Tick… Boom! and Under the Banner of Heaven. With The Social Network newly available on Max, there’s no time like the present to revisit one of Garfield’s best performances to this day.
The Social Network is available to stream on Max in the US.