Andrew Garfield has revealed that Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti directly shaped his physical performance as Spider-Man, in a roadside interview clip that has been circulating widely on social media.
The clip, shared on Instagram by Trackstarpresents, shows Garfield explaining a habit he keeps for every role he plays. “I create a playlist for every character I play, which is a lovely fun thing to do anyway,” he said, adding that when he first landed Spider-Man, he began listening to Fela Kuti and found something in the sound that stuck with him.
Garfield said the connection went beyond just enjoying the music. “There was something about the sound and the rhythm that was really useful to me for that character. There was something about suddenly being in touch with the body, but also justice-seeking, because obviously he was a revolutionary figure,” he said.
He explained that Fela’s influence went as far as shaping his physicality in the Spider-Man suit itself. “The way that I moved in that film in the suit has some inspiration from Fela and his music,” he said, adding that he was chasing a specific instinct about the character. “I don’t know what it is about this guy’s power that I want to somehow reflect in this guy’s power.”
Garfield played Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014, before returning to the role years later in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician and pioneer of Afrobeat, remains one of the most influential figures in African music history, known as much for his revolutionary politics and activism against military rule as for his sound.
The clip has drawn attention online largely because of how specific and unexpected the connection is, a major Hollywood actor naming a Nigerian musical icon as a direct creative influence on one of the biggest franchise roles of his career.