Andrew Garfield talked his way out of trouble during a street robbery by pretending he was heading home from his mother's funeral.

The actor reveals he has been a target for bullies most of his life, and had a torrid time at school when he was frequently picked on.

His luck didn't change when he left, and he was occasionally targeted by thieves as he walked through London - but on one occasion he told a grisly lie to put the crooks off.

Garfield tells GQ magazine, "I was very confused when I first went to school, and there was a kid who was just mean and I just didn't understand it, and right into my teenage years, where I would be mugged on the street, or when I was 17 or 18 and I was in drama school, and I wouldn't be able to do anything because there'd be three or four of them and they'd take my wallet, and I'd come home feeling so disempowered and so angry!

"When I was in Swiss Cottage (north London), going to my girlfriend's and this guy caught me and told me to empty my pockets, and I was so desperate that I lied and said, 'Listen, I've just come from my mother's funeral!' It was an awful thing to say, but it worked, and it made him see me (as a person), and he sat on the steps with me for 10 minutes instead, comforting me...

"I've never told my mum about that, and it might really upset her. She'd be heartbroken!"