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‘The Social Network’: Why the Roles Demanded So Much From Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield

Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield did not say they could not stay in character. Their accounts point instead to repeated takes, character exploration and emotional investment.
Opened Runtime3 min Written byDocumentaryTube Team
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It is not established that Jesse Eisenberg or Andrew Garfield struggled to stay in character between takes. What their accounts do show is a demanding process: David Fincher filmed some scenes repeatedly, Eisenberg used those takes to keep searching for Mark Zuckerberg, and Garfield drew on Eduardo Saverin’s conviction that a close friend had betrayed him.

What “staying in character” meant on this set

The question can blur two different things: remaining in character off camera, and sustaining or discovering a performance during filming. Interviews with the actors and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin support the second explanation, not a claim that either actor stayed in character between takes or practiced formal method acting.

Fincher’s approach involved extensive repetition in at least some scenes. Sorkin described the director’s reasoning in a 2010 interview: “David is not a mad man, but he likes to tire the actors out so that there’s less of the wrong kind of acting going on.” That was Sorkin’s characterization of Fincher’s method, not a general rule about acting. TheaterMania’s 2010 interview also captures how the actors described their work.

Why Eisenberg kept experimenting with Mark

Repeated takes gave him room to search

Eisenberg recalled that the opening scene was performed 99 times. He said it was the third day of filming and that the scene was shot across two nights. That figure applies to the opening scene, not to every scene in the film. The repeated attempts let him try different ways of playing Mark’s detachment and his reactions to conflict while he was still working out the character. Slashfilm’s October 2010 press-conference account reports his recollection; ABC News also reported the 99-take account in September 2010.

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The Social Network
  • The story of the founders of the social networking website Facebook, and how overnight success and wealth changed their lives.

Preparation was research, not an impersonation exercise

Eisenberg said he had one month to prepare and could not meet Zuckerberg. He studied photographs and video, repeatedly listened to audio assembled from interviews and speeches, and worked on posture and fencing. Yet the goal was not to reproduce Zuckerberg exactly: Sorkin said the filmmakers were not seeking an impersonation. The distinction matters because the film dramatizes a character rather than presenting a documentary reconstruction of Zuckerberg. The Los Angeles Times reported Eisenberg’s preparation and Sorkin’s distinction in 2010.

Why Garfield leaned into Eduardo’s grievance

Garfield described Eduardo as convinced that he had been betrayed by someone he regarded as a brother. Speaking about the character’s perspective, Garfield said, “So, of course, I believe in Eduardo.” That meant playing the conflict from within Eduardo’s sense of injury, rather than treating his anger as a pose. It does not indicate that Garfield remained Eduardo off camera. TheaterMania’s 2010 interview reports his comments about the betrayal.

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The Social Network [Blu-ray]
  • If you have not opened the item, you can return the product to us for refund, credit or replacement within 7 days.
  • Street Date: 11 January 2011. Studio: SONY HOME PICTURES ENT.
  • Region: A: Americas, E Asia. Display: 2.40:1, Color, Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV.
  • SubTitles: English, French, Spanish.
  • Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo, DTS-HD Master Audio, English, French.

Garfield also said that he and Eisenberg formed a genuine connection, which helped give the characters’ friendship weight on screen. That is his account of their relationship and its effect on the performance—not evidence of continuous role immersion. Slashfilm’s press-conference report includes his remarks.

How rehearsal and shooting shaped the performances

The film’s work on dialogue was exacting as well as repetitive. In a Library of Congress interview conducted in November 2024, Sorkin recalled reading his 172-page shooting script aloud with Fincher timing scenes. During an early rehearsal with Eisenberg and Rooney Mara, Fincher set a target of seven minutes and 20 seconds; Sorkin recalled being told, “Right now, you’re playing it at seven minutes and 50 seconds, so speed it up.” Sorkin said the finished film ran one hour and 59 minutes. These details offer context for the precision of the process, but do not prove that either actor had trouble staying in character. The Library of Congress interview with Sorkin provides his recollection.

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Fincher’s schedule, as reported by the Los Angeles Times in 2010, included 18 rehearsal days and 72 shooting days. Rehearsal, a long shoot, and repeated takes can help explain why the roles called for sustained concentration; the sources do not establish that the production was difficult for the actors for any single, definitive reason.

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What the take counts do—and do not—show

The numbers are memorable, but they refer to particular scenes and recollections, not a film-wide average.

Figure What it refers to
99 performances Eisenberg’s recollection of the opening scene, reported in 2010 by Slashfilm and ABC News.
46 takes Armie Hammer’s account of a separate long walk-and-talk, reported by Slashfilm in 2010; it was not the opening scene.

Neither number shows that actors were unable to remain in character. They illustrate the production’s willingness to repeat particular material and, in Eisenberg’s case, the chance to test different choices until the performance felt right.

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The Social Network [Blu-ray]
The Social Network [Blu-ray]
Street Date: 11 January 2011. Studio: SONY HOME PICTURES ENT.; SubTitles: English, French, Spanish.
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