In a touching conversation, Andrew Garfield opened up about the pain he experienced after the death of his mother, all while speaking to one of the characters we all remember from our childhood: Sesame Street’s Elmo. And we’re sobbing!
Sesame Street is known for tackling sensitive topics in a way that is accessible to kids, and this time was no different. Garfield lost his mother in 2019 after a long battle with cancer. In several interviews, he has talked about how grief has changed him and how the loss influenced his work.
During his talk with Elmo, Garfield shared how important it is to talk about the feelings that come after losing a loved one. For him, the grief is just a gift because it means that person was there and you loved them, it means they live on in your memories, and every time you think of them, you are honoring them, you’re still connected with them.
Elmo, as always, was a compassionate figure, listening intently and reminding viewers that it’s okay to feel sad and cry, that sharing those feelings with others can help ease the weight of grief, and that we should remember the people we love who are gone every day, even if our hearts still hurt every time we do.
Garfield has been candid about how therapeutic it’s been for him to express his grief, and his conversation with Elmo is resonating with us because we can all relate to it. But the best thing is witnessing that, after all these years, Sesame Street is still a safe place for children to learn how to deal with difficult emotions in a way that fosters empathy and understanding.
