Andrew Garfield’s Teary Conversation With Elmo About His Late Mom Is a Raw Look at Grief

The loss of a parent is one of the most heartbreaking life events someone can go through. Andrew Garfield shared his journey of grief with Elmo on the Friday, Oct. 18 episode of Sesame Street and the clip went viral for all the right reasons. No matter how old or young you are, grief can be a tough emotion to navigate. 

Elmo, in his sweet, little voice, asked the 41-year-old actor how he was doing as they sat on the iconic Sesame Street stoop. “I’m just thinking about my mom today,” he replied. “She passed away not too long ago, and you know, I just miss her a lot.” The Spider-Man star lost his mother, Lynn, in 2019 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Elmo was naturally empathetic, but Garfield wanted his Muppet pal to know that it is “actually kind of okay to miss somebody.”

“You know that sadness is kind of a gift,” Garfield added. “Kind of a lovely thing to feel in a way, because it means that you really loved somebody when you miss them. And when I miss someone, when I miss my mom, I remember all the cuddles I used to get from her. All the hugs I used to get from her. It makes me feel close to her when I miss her, in a strange sort of way.”

“So, I’m happy to have all the memories of my mom and all the joy she brought me,” he concluded. “And the joy she brought my brother, and my dad, everyone she ever met, everyone around her. So, 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.”

Elmo, of course, had the best response to Garfield, who had us grabbing for a box of tissues. “You know what? Elmo’s going to think about and celebrate your mommy too,” Elmo said. It was a raw, but beautiful, conversation for all ages.

Garfield revealed to People recently that he was able to leave the set of The Eyes of Tammy Faye in 2019 to be with his mother for the last days of her life, thanks to Jessica Chastain. “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,” he admitted. 

His mother was only 69 years old when she lost her life, but Garfield was grateful that they “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.” He told Variety in 2021, “To be with her and my dad and my brother, all of her friends, my nephews. It was full of grace in the midst of the terrible tragedy.”

Before you go, click here to see which celebrity kids lost their parents too soon.