Andrew Garfield stars in Under the Banner of Heaven’s true crime series as a Mormon detective, but is his character real? Following Spider-Man: No Way Home in December 2021, Garfield’s next project is FX on Hulu’s Under the Banner of Heaven, a series about the true story of Brenda Lafferty’s high-profile murder in 1984. Fresh’s Daisy Edgar-Jones, the MCU’s Wyatt Russell, and Avatar’s Sam Worthington star as members of the real-life devout Mormon Lafferty family, but the truth in Garfield’s role is more ambiguous.
Under the Banner of Heaven’s story is led by Andrew Garfield as Detective Jeb Pyre, a detective in Utah whose Mormon faith is tested as he uncovers the truth of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter’s murders. On Pioneer Day 1984, Brenda and her 15-month-old daughter were found brutally slain in their home, with the true events gradually revealing the role that the Mormon scripture and religious delusions played in the grotesque crimes. Along with recounting the disturbing events, the Garfield-starring Under the Banner of Heaven (based on the 2003 true crime boom of the same name) draws from the true history of Mormonism, the LDS church, and various real-life accounts of violence connected to the religious sect.
While the majority of Under the Banner of Heaven’s characters are based on real people, it doesn’t appear that Andrew Garfield’s Jeb Pyre is one of them. The case of the Lafferty murders doesn’t have any Jeb Pyre connected to it, not to mention as the lead detective on the investigation. As such, Andrew Garfield’s Under the Banner of Heaven character is entirely fictional. However, while Pyre may not be based on one real-life individual in particular, the detective’s fictitious nature allows Under the Banner of Heaven more creative freedom in exploring the show’s themes through the eyes of Andrew Garfield’s role.
In the true story of Under the Banner of Heaven’s Lafferty murders, the lead detective on the case was Terry Fox, who later became the American Fork Police Department Chief. Following the death of one of Brenda Lafferty’s murderers, Fox spoke out about how horrifying the case was at the time due to its religious motivations and gruesome nature (via KSL TV). He recalled that part of why the true crime that Under the Banner of Heaven’s series explores took such a toll on him was because Erica Lafferty, Brenda’s murdered daughter, was only 15 months old, and the detective had young daughters of his own around the same age. It doesn’t appear that Fox was also a devout Mormon like Garfield’s Detective Jeb Pyre in the 2022 TV show, but it’s clear that the first-hand experiences of the officer tackling such a horrifying and twisted case will inspire Under the Banner of Heaven’s police work.
While the real detective on the Lafferty murders may help lay the groundwork for the specifics of the investigation, Andrew Garfield’s character is a fictional invention utilized as the on-screen figure who must question his faith for the first time due to the case’s religious nature. Just as audiences at home will be horrified by the religious motivations of the case and how the scripture influenced such brutal events, Under the Banner of Heaven’s detective will be grappling with the dangers associated with his long-held beliefs. Andrew Garfield’s Jeb Pyre allows the series to explore how dangerous misinterpretations, religious delusions, and certain violent passages in the Mormon scriptures he also follows led to such crimes and what this means for his own faith in the case’s aftermath.
Under the Banner of Heaven releases new episodes Thursdays on Hulu.