Andrew Garfield Recalls How Jessica Chastain ‘Rearranged’ Filming So He Could See His Mom Before She Died

 Andrew Garfield is forever “very grateful” for his time with Jessica Chastain while they filmed The Eyes of Tammy Faye in 2019. 

The We Live in Time actor, 41, recalled in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE how Chastain, 47, ensured he got to spend time with his mother, Lynn Garfield, during her final days before she died of pancreatic cancer. 

“What was amazing was that [Searchlight Pictures’ David Greenbaum] and Jessica rearranged the schedule last-minute — put filming on hold [in North Carolina] for a few days so that I could go back [to England] and be with my mom for 10 days,” Andrew told PEOPLE.

Andrew Garfield and his mom Lynn in 2018. 

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Andrew also remembered what their fellow Eyes of Tammy Faye costar Vincent D'Onofrio said to him at the time.

“Because he had his own experience with a loss that he wasn't able to make it back for, he said, ‘Go. You got to go.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I know I've got to go and thank you,’ ” he added.

The Amazing Spider-Man star also recalled that while filming the drama about the rise and fall of late American evangelist Tammy Faye Messner, Chastain would pick him up and they would drive to Heritage USA, the now-closed Christian theme park created by Messner and her preacher husband, Jim Bakker. 

“It was a beautiful ritual. Every Sunday, we would go down there. And it was a combination of trying to commune with the spirit of Jim and Tammy and the place where they set up their temple, in a way, to their god but also to themselves,” said Andrew, who portrayed Jim opposite Chastain's Tammy.

Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain in 2022. 

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Since Heritage USA had closed and been transformed into a “different evangelical, more progressive rock music kind of church,” Andrew remembered, he and Chastain would attend services there. The trips turned into a way for them to do hands-on research for their movie.

“It became a bit of a detective pursuit because there were people, like security guards and people there who used to work for Jim and Tammy,” he said. “So we were able to get access to more information, and so it was really funny and it was very deep.”

He added of his time with Chastain, “We would have deep conversations, because we were both getting to know each other as people. I'm really very grateful for that time with her because it was the time when my mum was really sick and ultimately passed away.”

Andrew Garfield with his parents Lynn and Richard in 2018. 

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Following Lynn's death at age 69, Andrew described his mom as the “the purest angel” and recalled their final days together.

“The good news about me and her is that we left nothing unsaid,” he told Variety in 2021. “We had all the quality time we could possibly have while she was here. And those last two weeks I got to be with her were probably the most profound two weeks of my life.”

“To be with her and my dad and my brother, all of her friends, my nephews,” he added. “It was full of grace in the midst of the terrible tragedy.”