I don’t really have a problem with Adam Driver, I’m just not into him on a gut (or pants) level. His interviews are actually interesting and he has a nice body, but… well, I’m not into him. Still, I’m happy to see an actor “make it” in Hollywood with unconventional looks. Trying to care about interchangeable pretty boys gets tedious after a while, and I could see Driver becoming a modern version of the 1970s leading man archetype, like Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman and such.
Anyway, Driver covers the new issue of VMAN. You can see more of the editorial here. As I said… nice body. Really nice body, actually. He can’t wear a tuxedo though – he looks like a dirt-lipped 17 year old on his way to the prom. Here are some highlights from his cover interview:
The search for meaning: “As you get older and life starts to happen more, why not go down to the bottom as much as possible? But there can also be a danger in trying to find meaning in acting, which I’m also learning: that you take it way too seriously, and yourself too seriously. That’s a tricky thing: How do you take it so seriously that your stakes are life and death, but at the end of the day you can let it go? Talking to older actors, they never seem to figure it out.
He acknowledges his privilege: “It’s a little surreal. I love Scorsese and Spielberg—I probably watch Jaws twice a year. To work with them is a little out of body. It’s obviously extremely flattering, and weird. I’m a straight, white male, and I’ve had more opportunities than other people have, unjustly. And I’ve been lucky on top of that.
Hollywood’s slow pace: “It’s so insane to me. That’s why I like being a part of Girls, because it’s such a female-driven show. I see so many actors and friends who are so f–king good—but for one reason or another, because they’re female or African American, there aren’t as many opportunities for them. It’s total bullsh-t. My wife is an actress. She’s had to audition for, you know, “Blonde Girl #3.” There’s just such sh–ty writing and not as many opportunities.
Being married to an actress: “We’re both figuring it out. I value privacy and it’s impossible to say that without sounding like a total pretentious a–hole. Losing anonymity is a real thing and it makes your job difficult because when you are what people are looking at, you start thinking about yourself as opposed to taking things in. And selling who you are as a person doesn’t make sense to me. At the same time, you almost want to figure out a way to leverage some of it and do something good. My wife and I run a nonprofit, Arts and the Armed Forces, where we do monologues from contemporary American plays and do readings for a diverse military audience.
He’s also given an opportunity to defend (or slam, I suppose) Lena Dunham and he doesn’t take it, saying that he never even watches Girls because he just finds it difficult to watch himself. I don’t think he really wants to get involved with Lena’s politics or her controversies either way – he’s grateful for the job, but it’s just a job. And I like him more for acknowledging his privilege. Don’t you? I’m not asking white guys to beat themselves up because they don’t understand the struggle or whatever, but it’s nice to see a guy who is aware of enough to say, “Huh, I have so many more opportunities as an artist/person because I’m a white guy.”
Photos courtesy of Inez & Vinoodh/VMAN.
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