He might be known for wielding a lightsaber in Star Wars, but it’s Adam Driver’s pre-acting career that leaves most people stunned. Because, while most actors pretend they’re dealing with life or death scenarios, he’s actually encountered them.
And it’s something that has seeped into his on-screen life.
It had started with a self-admitted “mischievous” childhood. One day he would be singing in the church choir, and the next, he would be lighting random fires.
And, after seeing the movie Fight Club, he went ahead and made a real bloody-fist version with his misfit friends. But this was just the beginning of his unusual journey.
Next was a string of odd jobs that would suck the soul out of anyone – from vacuum salesman to telemarketer. There was the strange role in a play and the persistent dream of making it in the movies.
However, there was also a relentless string of rejections. The hardest one was from his dream school.
Juilliard gave him a hard pass, and it was no secret that this particular rejection was one of the hardest things he had to deal with at the time.
Things got so bad, and so many people said “no”, that he eventually developed an unusual coping mechanism going into any audition.
Driver said he would pre-emptively “hate” anyone and everything on the other side of the table. So, if he didn’t get the part, it was fine because he “didn’t like them anyways.” Now, most people would expect that he would get his big break soon.
But, that just wasn’t the case. A wide-reaching tragedy forced him in a different direction.
9/11 hit and the first thing Driver did was enlist in the Marines. Despite the increase in enlistments, wanting to join the Marines was still rare.
Even the recruiter presumed he was only there because he had to be a criminal running from the law.
Driver faced real danger and held real weapons for two years. And the only thing that prevented him from serving for another term was a mountain biking accident that forced him to leave the Marines after being medically discharged.
During this period of his life, an unusual "perfect storm" appeared.
Driver was always passionate about acting. Because it was so strong, he carried it into his military career, using the arts to help soldiers cope and improve their personal and family lives.
Ultimately, he would become a founding member of "Arts in the Armed Forces." But how did his time in the Marines impact his years after leaving the service?
His dream of attending Juilliard was finally realized after a new surge of determination. He got a second chance and the big break he had longed for when he landed a role on television.
The problem was that the stern and direct demeanor he developed in the military made other cast members uncomfortable.
He understood he needed to tone things down—at least a little. Driver channeled his passion and drive for the arts into a unique focus frequently mistaken for method acting. Driver claims that his time in the army taught him about his mortality and how much you can accomplish in a single day.
It would encourage him to give his roles his all. But why does he keep this extraordinary journey a secret?
First, Driver prefers to keep his personal life as private as possible. He also dislikes and distrusts all forms of social media.
It wasn’t until one particular TED talk and another “actor roundtable” show did he finally disclose more details about his military life.
The weapons were fun, and the explosives were “cool”, but it was the camaraderie he loved and missed the most.
“Self expression is just as valuable a tool as a rifle on your shoulder.” Even his role of Kylo Ren was greatly influenced by this attitude.
It made it easy to get back into shape for his shirtless roles. It made the lightsaber training something enjoyable.
And leading a grand army (even if it was the dark side) wasn’t that far out of his wheelhouse. But as much as he loves his job, there are a couple of things he really doesn’t like about it.
First, he doesn’t like green screens.
He stays in his character’s “zone” as much as possible just because it’s easier to get going when the director says “action.” But when he’s fighting with a stick in front of a boring backdrop, it’s so much harder to picture what’s going on.
Secondly, Driver hates watching himself on screen. He will only watch when he has to and even then, he usually is uncomfortable what he see.
Still, he was such a huge Star Wars fan, he made an exception for The Force Awakens. So, the next time you see Driver on screen, you’ll know so much more of what’s going on behind the scenes.
In more current news about drivers. He is promoting his brand and attending public events with his fans.
This weekend the talented star was amidst a crowd of supporters who were cheering on a 31-year-old waiter Alexander Tominksy, who ate his whopping 40th chicken. Fans took the opportunity to take selfies with the ‘Philadelphia Chicken Man’ and famous star.
Many fans were surprised that such a famous actor would be partaking in such a local sporting event, but it only made them love him even more. Fans were amused to hear Adam Driver scoffing in the background, “the good old days,” he said.
He was referring to the playful sport of eating an obscene amount of chicken.
In an interview in 2018, the striking Star Wars actor told sources he used a eat whole chicken every day. This was while he was a student at the Julliard school for the performing arts.
Many people were shocked to see the actor wolf down such a large quantity of white meat, but he assured them that it wasn’t some publicity stunt.
His fellow classmates soon realized that he was earnest about his training and had to achieve a certain body weight. He also revealed that his daily breakfast consisted of 6 eggs before he started his run from his home in Queens to Juilliard School in Manhattan.
He was serious about his diet and wouldn’t just eat anything.
One of Driver’s friends from the school Scott Aiello said, “He would walk around school with an entire chicken in one hand and a jug of water in the other.” It was an image many of his fellow classmates remember. Driver was in his own zone.
He didn’t bother anybody, but he wasn’t very chatty either. They admired his work ethic and determination.
Although he was a severe student, during his free time, his friends often made fun of him wearing a white headband, while he was running across the Brooklyn Bridge to get to class on time with an oily chicken hanging in his hand. It was a comical picture.
Driver was known to be a sport and enjoyed playing with his classmates after rehearsals.
After winning his Chicken Eating competition, Tominsky complained about how eating so many high-calorie chickens affected his body.
The poor waiter lost 16 pounds (7kg) over the 40-day marathon, and the amount of salt he consumed made him so sick that he believed he could “feel the pulse of my heart in my stomach.”
Driver is built very differently. As Hunter Harris once pointed out for Vulture, Driver is Hollywood’s biggest boy. An editor at Vogue once described him as “a cross between Raging Bull-era De Niro and Nicolas Cage in Moonstruck”.
Driver has a 6ft 2in height and has a tall frame, it is amplified by his large shoulders and thighs. One fan said, “they were as wide as my entire body.”
Tominsky is a local champion. He put his body at risk and defeated his own personal record.
His accomplishment has brought cheer to a town that just lost the baseball World Series and the Major League Soccer Cup final in one day. But don’t forget, we must remember: Adam Driver took it easy on him so Chicken Man could run.
In his latest big-screen movie, Adam Drivers’ transformation into Enzo Ferrari has finally been unveiled, and fans are shocked. His hair is completely different in style and color.
His naturally long face seems to have become more sullen too. The actor is starring as the ex-racecar driver in a forthcoming film by acclaimed director Michel Mann.
Based on Brock Yates’ book Enzo Ferrari – The Man and the Machine, Ferrari will also star famous actresses Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley.
Hugh Jackman was initially meant to play the lead role, and Driver has undergone his most significant transformation yet to play the character, and fans can’t believe their eyes.
On Friday, the 7 October, a photograph of the actor from the film was released, with many fans sharing their shock at Driver’s new appearance. One Twitter user commented: “I didn’t recognize him until I saw his name,”.
Another shocked fan said: “First time in a long time that Adam Driver doesn’t look like Adam Driver.”
Many critics commented that Driver was “doing a Jared Leto,” referencing the other famous actor who has undergone several transformations for film roles, including House of Gucci, in which he co-starred with Driver. Fans do not understand why he is going through negative criticism when it is literally his job to play the part.
Changing his appearance to match the character only makes the role more believable.
Other fans said that Driver’s Ferrari had a similar look to Jeremy Strong’s character Kendall Roy in HBO drama Succession series. Everyone had a lot to say about his new features, but they still loved him anyway.
They knew that he was about to put on a good show if he put that much effort into his character.
This amazing young star has given us nothing but the best thus far. We are sure there will be greater scenes from him in the future too. He is a talented actor with a lot to look forward to on screen.
We cannot wait to see what is next from Adam Driver. To protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events, places, or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.