In a philosophical and wide-ranging interview that tackles issues like the nature of evil, the power of being a femme queen, and how to live in today’s reality – Andrew Garfield opens up to OUT magazine about his own sexuality, and reveals how a semi-public discussion involving his preparation process landed him in hot water with the LGBTQ media last year.

“Up until this point, I’ve only been sexually attracted to women,” Garfield says. “My stance toward life, though, is that I always try to surrender to the mystery of not being in charge. I think most people — we’re intrinsically trying to control our experience here, and manage it, and put walls around what we are and who we are. I want to know as much of the garden as possible before I pass — I have an openness to any impulses that may arise within me at any time. But, if I were to identify, I would identify as heterosexual, and being someone who identifies that way, and who’s taking on this seminal role, my scariest thought was, Am I allowed to do this?”

“This” being the role of AIDS-stricken Prior Walter in the seven-hour, two-part play Angels in America that’s coming to Broadway this month. It was while he was preparing for the role in London last year that he caused a bit of a kerfuffle for saying he was “a gay man…without the physical act.”

via OUT:

The quote, like many that are pounced on to either denounce celebrities or probe into their private lives, was taken out of context. It was plucked from a semi-public discussion involving the actor’s preparation process in London, which included watching lots of RuPaul’s Drag Race — a warm-up for playing a character who practiced drag before falling ill. Beyond his general need for exploration, and his goal of plumbing the psyche of a wholly identifying gay man, Garfield says, “I think part of what I was trying to say was about inclusion, and about that openness to my impulses.”

Soooooo the takeaway here is that he’s straight but open to impulses? I like that…