'I wanted to be respectful: Peter Sarsgaard recalls pitching a tent in Michael Stipe's apartment on Jimmy Fallon's show

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Actor Peter Sarsgaard recently shared a peculiar tale from his past on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' detailing his unique living arrangement in the apartment of none other than Michael Stipe, the renowned lead singer of the band REM.

The story unfolded during a conversation with host Jimmy Fallon, providing a glimpse into an unforgettable time in Sarsgaard's life.

Peter Sarsgaard's tent pitched in Michael Stipe's apartment

Sarsgaard reminisced about the early days of his career and how he came to stay at Michael Stipe's apartment.

He recounted, "Julie Panebianco knew Michael Stipe. She knew all the cool rock stars. She said, You know, I don't think he'd mind if you stayed up there for a little while."

What seemed like a friendly offer took an unexpected turn. Sarsgaard continued, "He was redoing it, so there was nothing in it. And I wanted to be respectful, I remember, and I don't know, it made sense at the time. So I pitched a tent in the apartment." 

"I had no furniture," Sarsgaard admitted. "I literally pitched a tent in his apartment, like a camping tent."

Pitching a tent in the Gigantic Soho Loft

Fallon, clearly intrigued, asked about Michael Stipe, "Was he ever there?"

Sarsgaard chuckled, "Michael was never there. I got to know him a little bit through Julie, who was his partner at the time, and they had this giant loft in Soho. It was like a 10,000-square-foot loft that was just completely empty, except for a grand piano in the middle."

Sarsgaard continued, "So I was like, Can I crash here? And they were like, Sure!"

Fallon, unable to contain his laughter, exclaimed, "Wow! And you just put up a tent?"

"Yeah, just a tent," Sarsgaard confirmed. "I lived there for a little while, and it was great. I felt like a real New Yorker."

The unconventional living arrangement didn't seem to bother the aspiring actor.

He even recalled a time when he borrowed Stipe's guitar and played air guitar in front of U2's Bono: "I was like, I'm gonna play air guitar for Bono! And I just went for it. And he just kind of looked at me and smiled. It was a pretty surreal moment."