Andrew Garfield to star as Richard Branson in series about businessman

By Naomi Clarke and Ellie Iorizzo, PA Entertainment Reporters

Andrew Garfield will star as Richard Branson for a new series which tells the story of the billionaire businessman and his airline company, according to sources.

The 38-year-old actor, who is best known for his portrayal of Spider-Man, was recently nominated for his first Emmy Award for the crime drama Under The Banner Of Heaven.

David Leitch is set to direct the six-part series, titled Hot Air, which is based on the book Dirty Tricks by investigative journalist Martyn Gregory.

The book explores the rise of Sir Richard’s airline company, Virgin Airways, from when he started it 1984 with one leased aircraft.

It also explores how by 1990 it started to threaten British Airways’ monopoly, promoting them to launch a “dirty tricks” campaign where staffers would impersonate Virgin employees to try and gain information to persuade passengers to switch to them instead.

This year, Garfield was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Tick, Tick…Boom! and was recognised for the same role winning best actor in a musical/comedy film at the Golden Globes.

The film, which is Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s directorial debut, tells the story of Jonathan Larson’s attempt to enter the industry by writing a new musical.

Garfield also recently reprised his role as Spider-Man in 2021’s The Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw the three actors who have played Peter Parker throughout the years – Garfield, Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland – unite for the first time ever.