Andrew Garfield Tells Elmo ‘It’s OK to Miss Somebody’ While Talking Grief on ‘Sesame Street’

In a touching cross-promotion with his recently released romantic drama “We Live in Time,” Academy Award nominated actor Andrew Garfield appeared in a video last week for “Sesame Workshop” alongside “Sesame Street” staple Elmo. Together, the two shared a heartfelt chat about grief, focusing specifically on Garfield losing his mother to pancreatic cancer in 2019 and how he still carries her today. The clip begins with Elmo noticing Garfield not being his normal, plucky self.

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“I’m just thinking about my mom today,” Garfield said to Elmo. “You know, she passed away not too long ago and I just miss her, miss her a lot.”

As Elmo shares his sorrow for Garfield, the actor said, “You don’t have to say sorry. It’s actually OK to miss somebody.”

Elmo went on to acknowledge his own sadness whenever he misses someone, but Garfield doesn’t consider sadness such a bad thing.

“That sadness, it’s kind of a gift. It’s kind of a lovely thing to feel in away because it means you really love somebody when you miss them,” said Garfield. “And when I miss my mom, I remember all of the cuddles I used to get from her, all of the hugs I used to get from her, and it makes me feel close to her when I miss her, in a strange way.”

In fact, Garfield told Elmo that in missing his mom, he’s also able to find a lot of happiness and appreciation for what she gave him and others.

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“I’m happy to have all the memories of my mom and the joy she brought me and the joy she brought my brother and my dad and everyone she ever met. Everyone around her,” he said. “But when I miss her, I remember it’s because she made me so happy, so I can celebrate her and I can miss her at the same time.”

Garfield co-stars with Florence Pugh in John Crowley’s “We Live in Time,” in which they play a couple dealing with love and loss throughout their relationship. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times , Garfield spoke on his interest in telling more stories that allow him to tap him into deep emotions rather than surface-level thrills.

“I want to offer something true and vulnerable. Because God, I don’t want to get highfalutin in any way, but we’re in trouble right now in our culture,” said Garfield. “There’s a kind of epidemic of meaninglessness permeating the culture in a way that is now undeniable. I don’t want to add to the din of numbness and a kind of toeing the capitalist line.”

Watch Garfield’s full “Sesame Workshop” video below.