Andrew Garfield spoke from the heart about his late mother in a video with Elmo for Sesame Workshop.

In the video, Elmo asks Garfield how he’s doing, to which he replies, “I’m just thinking about my mom today. She passed away not too long ago and you know, I just miss her so much.” Garfield’s mother Lynn died of pancreatic cancer in 2019.

Garfield continued that it’s “actually okay to miss someone.”

“You know, sadness is kind of a gift,” he continued. “In a way it’s a nice feeling because when you miss someone it means you really loved them. And when I miss someone, when I miss my mother, I remember all the cuddles I got from her. All the hugs I got from her. It makes me feel close to her in a strange way when I miss her.”

“That’s why I’m happy to have all the memories of my mother and all the joy she gave me,” he concluded. “And the joy she brought to my brother and my father, to everyone she ever met, to everyone around her. When I miss her, I remember that she made me so happy. This way I can celebrate her and miss her at the same time.”

Garfield’s latest film, We Live in Time, premiered in the US on October 11th. He stars alongside Florence Pugh, with the film following a couple’s relationship over the course of a decade.