Andrew Garfield Makes True Crime Debut in Chilling Series Under the Banner of Heaven

Andrew Garfield tackles a darker role in the true crime mini-series Under the Banner of Heaven, also starring Normal People's Daisy Edgar Jones. See the teaser here!

By Cydney Contreras Feb 23, 2022 10:48 PMTags
Watch: Andrew Garfield Tells Why 2018 Tony Awards Is Unique

What can't Andrew Garfield do?

After singing and dancing in Tick, Tick... Boom! and swinging from spider webs in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the actor is taking on the role of detective Pyre in the FX mini-series Under the Banner of Heaven. Per the network's description, Pyre is a Latter-Day Saints "elder who is committed to his Church and family but begins to question some of the Church's teachings through his contact with a suspected murderer."

In a teaser, released Wednesday, Feb. 23, the clean-shaven actor is confronted with a grisly crime scene unlike anything he's ever seen before. "I wonder how something so horrific," Garfield says, "could come to pass."

The series is based on the 2003 book of the same title, in which author Jon Krakauer detailed the 1984 murder of Brenda Lafferty (Daisy Edgar Jones) and her infant daughter, Erica, at the hands of brothers-in-law Ron and Dan Lafferty. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, both brothers were ultimately convicted of Brenda and Erica's murder.

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2022 TV Premiere Dates

If this sounds familiar, there's good reason why. True crime fans may recognize this story, as the Lafferty brothers followed the fundamentalist teachings of Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who was convicted on two counts of felony sexual assault in 2011.

As one of the FLDS leaders, Jeffs preached that Mormonism allows for polygamy, a belief that caused strife between the Lafferty brothers and Brenda.  

The much-publicized trial of Jeffs, as well as the story of his rise to leadership, has been highlighted in numerous documentaries and biopics, including Amy Berg's documentary Prophet's Prey. The documentary was also produced by Under the Banner of Heaven executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

And Jeffs' case even got the Hollywood treatment, with Scandal star Tony Goldwyn portraying the disgraced leader in the Lifetime movie Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs

To see how the fundamentalist beliefs played a role in the death of Brenda Lafferty, tune in to Under of the Banner of Heaven, coming soon to FX.

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