Andrew Garfield Says Fela Kuti's Music Shaped His Spider-Man Performance

British actor Andrew Garfield has said that the music of the late Nigerian Afrobeat icon Fela Anikulapo-Kuti played a role in how he portrayed Spider-Man, shaping both the character's movements and his sense of justice.

Garfield made the remarks in a video shared on YouTube by the Track-star-show, titled "Testing Andrew Garfield's Music Knowledge." The segment was cited on Tuesday.

According to the actor, he puts together playlists for each character he takes on, and he turned to Fela's music when he first stepped into the Spider-Man role. He said the sound and rhythm of the music helped him connect with the character on both a physical and emotional level.

"I create a playlist for every character I play, which is a lovely fun thing to do anyway. So I started listening to Fela Kuti when I first got Spider-Man, and there was something about the sound and the rhythm that was really useful to me for that character," he said.

Garfield went on to explain that Fela's revolutionary history and his music allowed him to dig into the character's physicality and his dedication to justice.

"There was something about suddenly being in touch with the body, but also justice-seeking, because obviously he was a revolutionary figure," he said.

He also noted that the way he moved while wearing the Spider-Man suit in the film drew partly from the Nigerian musician's music.

"And the way that I moved in that film, in the suit, has some inspiration from Fela and his music," Garfield stated.

The actor said he was drawn to the strength expressed in Fela's music and hoped to bring some of that energy into his performance as the superhero.

"I was like, I don't know what it is about this guy's power that I want to somehow reflect in this guy's power," he said.

The track featured during the segment was Fela's "Water No Get Enemy," from his 1975 album "Expensive Shit."

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