Andrew Garfield says billionaires should be 'scared shitless' by 'The Uprising'

Andrew Garfield has said he hopes The Uprising will encourage audiences to reflect on justice, inequality and the abuse of power, adding that he hopes billionaires who watch the film are “scared shitless”.

During a recent Q&A with director Paul Greengrass, Garfield discussed the film’s themes and what he wants audiences to take away from the story.

The Uprising is based on the uprising that inspired the legend of Robin Hood and stars Garfield as Ploughman, who forms an army against the rule of King Richard II.

"First, I hope they come and see it, for first thing," Garfield said. "But secondly, I hope it's galvanizing. I hope there's some awakening that people feel, that they feel that their own, that we all feel like our own struggles are being reflected in the struggles of these characters from a distant time and place, and that it could be directive. And I hope that if any billionaires watch it, they're scared shitless."

The moderator later quoted a line from the film: "There will be no peace until we are healed." Greengrass said the statement is "true of today as it [was] 600 years ago, for sure."

Garfield added, "I'm going to include the billionaires in that as well, because they're the ones that might be the most soul sick. They're the ones that might need the healing the most in a way."

The actor has also discussed similarities between the film’s historical setting and present-day conditions.

Speaking to Esquire last month, Garfield described the period as one marked by “brutal conditions for working-class people, brutal taxation post-plague, incompetence in government, abusive practices”.

"The truth of that period of time," Garfield said, "was that there were brutal conditions for working-class people, brutal taxation post-plague, incompetence in government, abusive practices, with the underclass being seen as sub-human creatures from the perspective of those in power."

When asked whether those conditions could apply today, he responded, "Yeah, here and in the United States, and all around the world."

The Uprising arrives in cinemas on September 10.