Ben Garfield lives a life far from red carpets and film sets. He is the older brother of actor Andrew Garfield. While Andrew built a career in Hollywood, Ben chose medicine. He now works as a respiratory and critical care physician in London.

Public interest in Ben grew through his brother’s own words. Andrew has spoken about Ben in interviews and on television. Those comments give the clearest picture of who Ben Garfield really is. This article covers his verified education, career, research, and family background.

Quick Facts

Early Life and Family Background

Ben Garfield was born in Los Angeles, California. His father, Richard Garfield, is from California. His mother, Lynn Garfield, was born Lynn Hillman in Essex, England. The family later moved from the United States to the United Kingdom.

Andrew Garfield was three years old at the time of that move. The family settled in Epsom, Surrey. Ben grew up there alongside his younger brother. Their parents ran a small interior design business in the early years.

Richard Garfield later became head coach of the Guildford City Swimming Club. Lynn Garfield worked as a teaching assistant at a nursery school. Money was not always easy during those early years in Surrey. Still, both parents built steady careers alongside raising their sons.

The Garfield family has Jewish heritage on the father’s side. Richard’s parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland, Russia, and Romania. The family surname was originally Garfinkel. It was later changed to Garfield.

Education and Medical Training

Ben Garfield studied medicine at the University of Nottingham Medical School. He graduated from Nottingham in 2004. Two years later, he earned his MRCP qualification. This stands for Membership of the Royal College of Physicians.

After Nottingham, Ben trained as a registrar in respiratory medicine. His training also covered critical care and general medicine. This training took place through the London Deanery. It gave him the clinical foundation needed for specialist hospital work.

In 2013, Ben received a major research honor. The Medical Research Council awarded him a Clinical Research Fellowship. This funded PhD study at the National Heart and Lung Institute. The institute sits within Imperial College London.

His PhD was supervised by three respected researchers. Dr John Wort, Dr Paul Kemp, and Professor Michael Polkey guided the work. The research examined TGF-beta signalling in the body. It focused on how this signalling relates to muscle weakness.

That muscle weakness develops in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. This condition involves high blood pressure in the arteries near the lungs. It can place serious strain on the heart. The condition can also weaken muscles and reduce physical strength over time.

Ben’s doctoral research aimed to understand that weakening process. His work sat at the intersection of respiratory and muscular medicine. This kind of research demands years of laboratory and clinical training. It also requires close supervision from senior specialists in the field.

Career in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine

Ben Garfield built his medical career around lung and critical care medicine. His brother Andrew has described his workplace directly in interviews. Andrew called Ben a lung doctor. He also called him a pulmonary physician specialist at Royal Brompton Hospital.

That hospital sits in Chelsea, London. Royal Brompton Hospital is one of the United Kingdom’s leading heart and lung centers. Ben’s clinical work has connected him with this institution for years. Patients there often face severe and complex respiratory conditions.

Ben’s research groups at the National Heart and Lung Institute cover several areas. These include critical care and pulmonary hypertension. They also include respiratory and skeletal muscle research. A separate focus involves muscle gene expression studies.

His academic and clinical paths run alongside each other. He combines hospital patient care with ongoing research work. This dual focus is common among senior specialists in respiratory medicine. It allows daily clinical experience to directly inform new medical research.

Research Work and Published Studies

Ben Garfield’s name appears in peer-reviewed medical literature. His research connects to some of the most difficult cases in critical care. One notable study examined COVID-19 patients treated with a life-support technique. That technique is called veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, known as VV-ECMO.

VV-ECMO is used only in the most severe respiratory cases. It supports patients whose lungs can no longer function on their own. Doctors turn to it when standard ventilation fails to help. It remains one of the most intensive treatments in modern medicine.

The study Ben contributed to looked at fifty-three patients. These patients were treated at Royal Brompton Hospital. They were admitted between March and May 2020. Researchers then tracked their outcomes over six months.

Researchers compared these results with an earlier group of patients. That earlier group had non-COVID-19 viral pneumonia. Those patients had also received VV-ECMO support in the past. The comparison helped researchers understand how COVID-19 outcomes differed.

The results showed a notably high survival rate. Six-month survival reached 84.9 percent among the COVID-19 patients studied. This was higher than the historical comparison group. The findings added useful data during an especially difficult period for intensive care medicine worldwide.

Ben Garfield and Andrew Garfield’s Relationship

Andrew Garfield has spoken about his brother on several public occasions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the two stayed in close contact. Andrew has said he called Ben roughly every other day. He described playing a supportive role during that stressful period.

Speaking on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Andrew reflected on those calls. He described himself as Ben’s emotional support during lockdown. Andrew said the calls worked both ways. They helped him stay connected while Ben worked through a demanding time at the hospital.

In November 2021, Ben appeared at a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Andrew was there to promote Tick, Tick… Boom!. Their father, Richard Garfield, sat beside Ben in the audience. Colbert spotted them and asked about the age gap between the brothers.

Andrew said the gap was three years. Colbert jokingly called them “three rough years.” The host then noted a physical contrast. Andrew has a full head of hair. Ben does not.

Andrew responded warmly about his brother’s profession. He said his brother is a doctor. He added that he himself is merely an actor. He then called Ben a pulmonary doctor and a lung doctor.

Andrew added that Ben had spent the previous two years saving lives. The audience gave Ben a standing ovation during that moment. It marked one of his rare appearances in the public eye. Andrew has also discussed his brother in print interviews.

In one such conversation, Andrew again described Ben’s role at length. He called him a lung doctor once more. He also described him as a pulmonary physician specialist. He placed that role specifically at Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Ben Garfield’s name is not unique. Public records list other people who share it. One is a documentary filmmaker and director based in London. Another is a writer and editor credited on different film projects.

These individuals have no connection to Andrew Garfield. They also have no connection to medicine or Royal Brompton Hospital. The physician discussed in this article is a distinct person. His public identity rests entirely on his medical career and his family tie to Andrew.

Losing Their Mother

The Garfield brothers faced a difficult loss in 2019. Their mother, Lynn Garfield, died that year from pancreatic cancer. Andrew has spoken emotionally about her passing in interviews. He has described the grief as something that stays with him.

During the same Late Show appearance, Andrew grew reflective about Lynn. He said he loved talking about her, even through tears. He called the emotion a form of unexpressed love. That loss remains a significant part of the family’s shared story.

Conclusion

Ben Garfield’s story stands apart from typical celebrity biographies. He did not choose fame or public attention. Instead, he built a serious medical career in one of healthcare’s most demanding fields. His path led through Nottingham Medical School and a doctoral fellowship at Imperial College London. That path shows steady, verified growth.

His connection to Andrew Garfield brings him public curiosity. Yet his own record speaks for itself. Peer-reviewed research, hospital work at Royal Brompton, and years of specialist training define his career. Andrew’s own words, shared across interviews and television appearances, offer the clearest window. They show who Ben Garfield really is.

The two brothers represent very different forms of achievement. Andrew built his career in front of cameras and global audiences. Ben built his career at the bedside, largely away from public view. Together, their story shows that public significance can come in more than one form.

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FAQs

Does Andrew Garfield have a brother?

Yes. Andrew Garfield has one older brother, Ben Garfield. Ben works as a respiratory and critical care physician in London. Andrew has spoken about him in several interviews.

Is Ben Garfield related to Andrew Garfield?

Yes. Ben Garfield is Andrew Garfield’s older brother. They share the same parents, Richard and Lynn Garfield. Both brothers grew up together in Epsom, Surrey.

How old is Ben Garfield?

Ben Garfield’s exact date of birth is not publicly confirmed. Andrew has said the age gap between them is three years. On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert jokingly called them “three rough years.”

What does Ben Garfield do for a living?

Ben Garfield works as a doctor specializing in respiratory and critical care medicine. Andrew has described him as a lung doctor. He has also called him a pulmonary physician specialist.

Which hospital does Ben Garfield work at?

Andrew Garfield has said his brother works at Royal Brompton Hospital. The hospital is located in Chelsea, London. It is known as one of the UK’s leading heart and lung centers.

Did Ben Garfield study medicine?

Yes. Ben Garfield studied at the University of Nottingham Medical School. He graduated in 2004. He earned his MRCP qualification two years later, in 2006.

Is the doctor Ben Garfield the same person as the film director with a similar name?

No. A separate individual named Ben Garfield works as a documentary filmmaker in London. Another person named Benjamin Garfield is credited as a writer and editor. Neither is related to Andrew Garfield or connected to medicine.