Andrew Garfield’s Emotional & Hopeful Conversation With Elmo About His Mother’s Death Will Bring You To Tears

A new video shows Andrew Garfield having an emotional conversation with Elmo from Sesame Street about the loss of his mother and his thoughts on the meaning of grief. Garfield’s many roles include starring in The Amazing Spider-Man, The Social Network, Hacksaw Ridge and Tick, Tick… Boom!, the latter two of which earned him Oscar nominations for Best Actor. Sesame Street is well-known for tackling difficult subjects in a way to help children better understand them.

In a video from the official Elmo X account, the Sesame Street character asks Garfield how he is doing. When Garfield says that he is doing “okay,” Elmo encourages the actor to talk about what is on his mind. Garfield then tells Elmo that he is thinking about his mother, who passed away, and how he misses her. He then tells Elmo that it is okay to miss someone, and that the sadness one feels is a gift, showing that you truly loved the person who is gone. Garfield’s comments on grief can be found below:

You know, that sadness, it’s kind of a gift, it’s kind of a lovely thing to feel in a way, because it means you really loved somebody when you miss them. And when I miss someone, I remember, when I miss my mom, I remember all the cuddles I used to get from her. All of the hugs I used to get from her.

Garfield then explained how whenever he remembers his mother, it makes him feel close to her. He also said that when he remembers his mother, he can both miss her, as well as celebrate her life. At the end of the video, Garfield revealed that Elmo was his mother’s favorite character on Sesame Street. Check out the rest of Garfield’s discussion in the comments and video below:

It makes me feel close to her when I miss her, in a strange way. So 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. 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.

What Garfield’s Conversation With Elmo Means To Viewers

The Actor’s Words Show How Grief Means You Truly Loved Someone

In the video, Garfield was able to talk honestly about how important his mother was to him, and how much he misses her. By talking about how grief is a reminder of how important that love is, it shows that his mother is still making an impact on him. In November 2021, Garfield made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he talked about how his grief over his mother’s death was the “unexpressed love” that he was no longer able to share with her.

While death is a difficult subject to talk about with children, Sesame Street has tackled it before. After the death of Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper in the show, the show’s creators decided to have the character die in the series. This led to an important episode, where the human characters had to explain to Big Bird, as well as young viewers, why Mr. Hooper was gone.

Our Take On Garfield’s Conversation With Elmo

A Lesson For Viewers Of All Ages

Although Sesame Street‘s primary target audience is children, viewers of all ages are able to take something away from Garfield’s conversation with Elmo. One of the reasons that the video is so emotional is because of how honest the Spider-Man alum is being about his feelings of grief, making it relatable to anyone who has lost someone. By releasing the video on X, it also shows that Sesame Street knows how important this message is for viewers of any age.

Source: Elmo/X

One of the longest-running children’s television shows in the world, Sesame Street premiered in 1969 and is still airing episodes to this day. The show uses puppetry (courtesy of Jim Hensen’s Muppets), animation, and live-action to bring a series of educational segments to children, always keeping a comedic, heartfelt tone. 

Release Date

November 10, 1969

Seasons

53

Creator(s)

Joan Ganz Cooney , Lloyd Morrisett , Jim Henson