Spider-Man: No Way Home: Lin-Manuel Miranda Says Andrew Garfield Needed More Practice Lying About His Role

Before his appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home was confirmed when the actor appeared on screen as Peter Parker/Spider-Man from The Amazing Spiderman in the wildly popular MCU film, Andrew Garfield was doing his best to keep the appearance a secret. That included the actor lying when asked directly if he was set to appear, not only to the media but to those in his personal life as well. However, one of those people happens to be Lin-Manuel Miranda who says that Garfield's lying skills needed a bit more work.

During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Miranda, who directed Garfield in 2021's Tick, Tick… Boom!, explained that he actually asked Garfield while on the set of that film if the rumors about his Spider-Man appearance were true and revealed that the actor's response only confirmed things, despite his attempt to deny.

"So, the day it leaked he might be involved, he was on my set," Miranda said. "We were still filming, and between shots, I kind of quietly went over to him and was like, 'Andrew, are you in the new Spider-Man?' And his exact reaction was, 'What? Shut up. Shut up.' And I walked away thinking, 'Oh, he's in the new Spider-Man.'"

Miranda did admit, however, that Garfield's denials got much better by the time he was speaking with the media, particularly during Garfield's The Tonight Show appearance.

As for Garfield's denials, the actor recently told The Jess Cagle Show on SiriusXM that it was something of an ethical dilemma for him, though he also acknowledged the surprise and the "joyful, fun, experience" for fans helped it make sense. 

"It was definitely kind of an ethical dilemma to a certain degree," Garfield said. "But then I kind of realized it wasn't, in a way. Because who doesn't want—ultimately, deep down—who doesn't want a surprise party? In order to organize a surprise party, there has to be some fibbing. I'll say fibbing rather than lying because that feels more socially acceptable."

He continued, "For me, it was just playing a game knowing that the end of the game would be a celebration. Knowing that if I could play the game to the best of my ability, it would give everyone the best opportunity to have an incredibly enhanced, joyful, fun experience when they go to a theater."

Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters.