One of the best things about the new Star Wars movies is that the new actors all seem to be having a blast making them, but Adam Driver seems like the one guy in the bunch who isn’t happy to dress up as his character and go out in public to delight children of all ages. Part of the reason he seems like that is because of stories from the Star Wars set about him being very intense, with John Boyega saying he likes to “randomly” give Driver hugs while filming as a joke, but Driver “just stands there” and waits for the hug to end. Even Mark Hamill, who seems like a pretty lovable guy, couldn’t break through Driver’s tough exterior while filming The Last Jedi.
Now, though, Vulture has come along with a shocking revelation: Adam Driver doesn’t have a tough exterior at all, and he has no idea why people are under the impression that he’s “intense.” That came out as part of an extensive profile on Driver, who apparently loves to talk about acting, hates to talk about himself, and really hates to talk about Star Wars. As for being “intense,” Driver says he doesn’t get it because it’s not like he shows up on set and glares at people, says he has to “fire off a rocket really quick” before doing a scene, or carries around cold cuts he can “smash” during a production. He theorizes that the “intense” label is because he’s actually just very focused when he’s on set, which is especially important while making Star Wars because “it’s pure comedy in between takes.”
Speaking of comedy, Vulture also threw Driver an apparent softball by asking what he does for fun, to which Driver responded, “I’m so fun that I can’t think of anything.” He offered “clubbing” as an example of a thing he does, but after Vulture pushed him on it a little bit, Driver offered that “work is sometimes fun” and added, “I mean, I have fun. What do I do for fun though?” Vulture gave him an out then, and Driver finally conceded, jokingly, “I have no fun.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Driver does have some stuff to say about what it’s like being in Star Wars. For starters, he says he didn’t really expect to become famous from Star Wars, pinning some of his recognizability on the fact that he’s “tall” and looks “a certain way.” He also refused to offer any insight on what interests him about Kylo Ren, because he’s still “working toward something” with the character, and he said that the charity he runs with his wife (which brings theatrical productions to soldiers) would be doing better if he weren’t involved because he refuses to accept donations from people who just want to take Star Wars-themed photos with him. Basically, he really doesn’t want to talk about Star Wars, but he’s not intense about it.