Actor With a Drive: Adam Driver Takes the Wheel in Hollywood

Actor With a Drive: Adam Driver Takes the Wheel in Hollywood

Luke Currie ‘20 Staff Reporter

With the takeoff of his career in his supporting role in the HBO-series “Girls”, Adam Driver is now one of Hollywood’s top stars who is highly sought after by many bigname directors including JJ Abrams, Martin Scorsese, Noah Baumbach and many more.

Born in San Diego and raised in Mishawaka, Indiana, Driver lived in the back of his mother’s house until he decided to change his life and apply to the Juilliard School for drama, to which he was rejected. Shortly after, he took a sharp turn in his life aspirations and joined the Marines. After two years and eight months of serving, he was medically discharged at rank Lance Corporal.

Struggling to fit back into normal life outside of the Marine lifestyle, Driver, standing at six-foot two and literally sticking out in society, made one last attempt with his acting career and once again applied to the Juilliard School. This time, he was accepted and his career took off from there.

Driver is best known for his recent roles as the cutting-edge villain Kylo Ren in the latest Star Wars trilogy and the emotionally exhausted husband Charlie in Marriage Story for which he received a 2020 Golden Globe nomination. Whether it be space wars or arguments with a wife, Driver truly puts all of his effort and passion onto screen.

Within the three Star Wars films that Driver starred in, his strongest acting trait is his ability to not only deliver dialogue strongly, but also have a strong presence on screen. The clash of his pale white face with his all black costume mixed with his unique mannerisms such as his eye twitch attracts the audience’s eyes no matter what scene it is. These visuals are further enhanced with the way he speaks, delivering lines in a dark, sinister, serious or even soft manner.

Daisy Ridley, who plays Rey in the film, said, “I love working with Adam, he is a phenomenal actor, and is always so immersed in the character that it is not difficult to act with him”.

Charming, selfish, heartbroken and frustrated, Driver plays the husband that turns a father-son relationship and marriage into dust initially, but whose mourning ultimately earns the audience’s sympathy. In one scene, Charlie returns home to his family, unaware of his wife’s ambitions for divorce. This dramatic irony stirs intense emotion in the audience and Driver skillfully conveys a sense of unawareness. More priceless is the way Driver captures Charlie’s emotion when he learns of the intended divorce, and his tear-filled interactions with his son that turn to arguments because of his fear of losing custody. Driver does everything in this film from putting tears in the audience’s eyes to heartfelt singing. The beauty of this film and Driver’s performance in it is truly heartbreaking.

Currently, Driver is starring in new films for 2020 in leading roles including Annette and The Last Duel. He also manages a non-profit organization that he founded titled Arts in the Armed Forces which provides high-quality arts programming to people in the military. From a galactic supreme leader to an average husband in a crumbling marriage, Adam Driver can be successful in so many different roles making him Hollywood’s next big star.