Andrew Garfield was “desperate” for a role in the Narnia movies – but was told he wasnt handsome enough

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Andrew Garfield has revealed that he auditioned for the Narnia movies, but lost out on the part because he wasn’t deemed handsome enough.

“I remember I was so desperate. I auditioned for Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia and I thought, ‘This could be it, this could be it,'” Garfield said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight (opens in new tab). “And that handsome, brilliant actor Ben Barnes ended up getting the role. I think it was down to me and him, and I remember I was obsessed.”

The character first appears in the second movie in the series, 2008’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and again in the final movie in the trilogy, 2010’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

When he didn’t get the role, Garfield went to his agent and asked, “Why not me?” 

“She eventually just broke under my incessant nagging and she was like, ‘It’s because they don’t think you’re handsome enough, Andrew,'” Garfield added. “Ben Barnes is a very handsome, talented man. So in retrospect, I’m not unhappy with the decision and I think he did a beautiful job.”

Around the time of the final Narnia movie’s release, Garfield starred in The Social Network, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination, before going on to play Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man movies. 

Garfield can currently be seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home. If you’re up to date with the Spider-Verse, fill out your watch list with our picks of the best superhero movies of all time.