Andrew Garfield is generating Oscar buzz for his performance as Sam Altman in Luca Guadagnino’s dark comedy Artificial , which premiered at the New York Film Festival on October 6, 2026. Neon is positioning Garfield in the supporting actor race, and the campaign already looks like a smart bet. Artificial dramatizes the five days in November 2023 when OpenAI’s board removed Altman as CEO, more than 700 employees threatened to leave, and Altman eventually returned to the job. Screenwriter Simon Rich and Guadagnino frame the corporate crisis as both a comedy about bruised tech egos and a warning about who gets to control artificial intelligence. Is Andrew Garfield the next Oscar surprise? Garfield plays Altman with a Norman Bates inspired blend of charm, unease, and tightly controlled oddness. The comparison reaches back to Anthony Perkins’ performance in Psycho , a celebrated turn that earned no Oscar nomination despite Norman Bates becoming one of cinema’s most iconic villains. Guadagnino’s film is being received as his strongest work since Call Me by Your Name , while Yura Borisov also delivers a major performance. If Garfield keeps this momentum through awards season, Artificial could turn a real Silicon Valley power struggle into his long awaited Oscar breakthrough.