Actor Adam Driver famously doesn’t like to watch himself on screen. He may have attended the Cannes Film Festival to promote James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” but he slipped out of the theater after walking the red carpet with his wife, Joanne Tucker. Fortunately, he was there when the lights came back on in order to witness the film’s ten-minute standing ovation. While speaking with the film’s director about the movie, the “Star Wars” actor revealed that he has only watched one film at Cannes for a heartbreaking reason.
Last Saturday, the “Marriage Story” actor attended the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his movie “Paper Tiger,” which also stars Miles Teller and Scarlett Johansson. After walking the red carpet with his wife, he took his seat and waited for the movie to start playing before he slipped away.
“I can’t stand to watch myself,” Driver told Variety. “I have a whole system where I wait until everything is starting, and I go through these mazes into a room that overlooks all these boats. And then I sneak back in and try not to be noisy so I can be there as the lights come up.”
Fans of the actor know that he doesn’t like to watch his own films, but there is one Cannes film premiere that he did watch in order to support a friend.
The One Cannes Film Premiere That Driver Did Watch
Although he doesn’t like to watch himself act, the “Paterson” actor did sit through the 2024 premiere of the film “Megalopolis” in order to support director Francis Ford Coppola, as his wife, Eleanor, had just passed away.
Although “Paper Tiger” marks his eighth film at the festival, Driver says that he still gets anxious. “I used to have a couple [of] drinks just to calm down. But I can’t go overboard because sometimes you come back and you don’t match the mood of a movie,” Driver admitted. “Sometimes people are crying, and you’re like, ‘Hey everybody!’”
Fortunately, Driver and the rest of the cast have received rave reviews for their performances, with one critic saying that the “65” actor delivered a “career-best performance” in the role.
James Gray Wrote This Part For Adam Driver
In the interview with Variety, Gray revealed that he had actually written this part with Driver specifically in mind. “I wrote this part for him,” Gray explained. “It’s very uncommon to find an actor who can convey vulnerability and danger. These are the two most valuable commodities for a director.”
“I can only think of one performance in the history of movies where there’s no danger, and it’s great,” he continued. “And that’s Jeff Bridges as the Dude in ‘Big Lebowski.’ Everything else has kind of an undercurrent of menace.”
Adam Driver Revealed He’s A Fan Of James Gray’s Work
Driver has worked with some acclaimed directors over the years, but he was especially excited to work with Gray. “He tells these really intimate stories where there’s always an amazing cinematic sequence,” Driver said. “But it’s always grounded in character.”
They met frequently at Driver’s house in New York in order to perfect the script in the months leading up to production.
“If I don’t understand a part, then it’s hard to play it,” Driver explained. “And the biggest enemy on a film is time. We had official rehearsals, but whatever you can do in advance to drill down into the characters is so important, so then you don’t waste time on set having debates about everything.”
Adam Driver Admits He Likes ‘The Reach’ Of Big Movies Like ‘Star Wars’
Although he got his start on the HBO comedy “Girls,” Driver became a household name after he starred as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy. Although he tends to gravitate towards indie films, he admitted that he likes “the reach” of bigger movies.
“I like the scale of those bigger movies, and I like the reach of them,” Driver said. “I more naturally gravitate towards smaller films. The rhythm is completely different. It’s a little faster. I don’t mind having to do something technical.”
“I feel like that was the only debate that we would have on set, James apologizing in advance for something complicated,” he continued. “And I’m like, ‘I understand there is an artificiality here. I’m aware that all of this is not real.’”