Jessica Chastain Changed ‘Eyes of Tammy Faye’ Schedule for Andrew Garfield

Andrew Garfield recalled in a recent interview with People how Jessica Chastain ensured he would spend time with his mother, Lynn, before she died in 2019 from pancreatic cancer. At the time, the two actors were working together on the Tammy Faye Bakker biopic, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which Chastain also produced.

“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,” Garfield said.

Chastain and Garfield starred in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” as televangelists Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker, respectively. Based on a true story, the 2021 biopic follows Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker’s rise from humble beginnings to create the world’s largest religious broadcasting network, as well as a Christian theme park.

Garfield told People about a “ritual” he and Chastain had while filming the biopic, where Chastain would pick him up and they would drive to Heritage USA, the Bakker’s now-closed theme park.

“It was a beautiful ritual. Every Sunday, we would go down there,” Garfield said. “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.” 

Garfield 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.”

In 2021, Garfield spoke to Variety about being with his mother in England before her death. “The good news about me and her is that we left nothing unsaid,” he said. “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. It was full of grace in the midst of the terrible tragedy.”