Adam Driver ‘Hates’ Watching All but 3 of His Movies Because of ‘Girls’
Adam Driver is an award-winning actor known for his roles in movies like Marriage Story, Silence, Patterson, and Star Wars. Before he became a blockbuster movie star, Driver was acting in theater and the HBO series Girls.
As Driver rose to fame in movies and television, one thing about him remained the same. Driver “hates” watching himself perform and dislikes seeing the films and shows he acts in. But there are three movies Driver will tolerate watching.
Adam Driver felt ‘sick to his stomach’ watching Kylo Ren kill Han Solo in ‘Star Wars’
Driver feels watching himself perform is painful. Ironically, the actor isn’t alone. Other stars like Renée Zellweger, Justice League‘s Jason Momoa, Chris Pine, Nichola Hoult, and Armie Hammer refuse to watch their movies.
But when it comes to Star Wars, Driver will suck it up and watch the trilogy. That’s because the storytelling is so visual and he has no idea what’s going on when they’re actually filming.
“There’s so much of the story you’re missing [when you film a movie like Star Wars],” Driver explained to Jenelle Riley during a SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations interview. “So I watch those.” But not without feeling sick.
Ben Solo/Kylo Ren notoriously kills Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. While the scene is tough for any Star Wars fan to watch, it’s even harder for Driver to witness.
“When I watched the [Force Awakens] premiere, I felt sick to my stomach,” Driver told GQ. “The people behind me, when the scroll started, were like ‘Oh my god. Oh my god. It’s happening.’ Immediately, I thought I was going to puke.”
Watching the ‘Girls’ pilot inspired Adam Driver never to watch his movies
Driver said he “hates” watching himself act during his interview with Riley. That’s been true since he worked on Girls with Lena Dunham in the summer of 2011.
“I saw the pilot of Girls with Lena on her laptop,” he told Esquire in 2015. “I was like, ‘This is f*cking terrible.'”
Of course, Driver didn’t mean the HBO series, which won a few Golden Globes and Primetime Emmy Awards. “Not the show,” Driver clarified. “But the experience [of watching my acting].”
“That’s when I was like, ‘I can’t watch myself in things,'” he admitted to The New Yorker in 2019. “I certainly can’t watch this if we’re going to continue doing it.”
While the actor has considered watching his work to “learn from [his] mistakes,” he often back peddles on the idea for one reason. “The things I respond to in art are unperfect and unpolished.” So there’s no point in perfecting them.
Adam Driver has never seen Spike Lee’s ‘BlacKkKlansman’ either
Driver wasn’t kidding when he said the only thing he’ll watch that he’s in is Star Wars. “I haven’t seen [BlakKklansman],” Driver admitted during the SAG interview.
How does the actor avoid seeing himself in movies? When BlacKkKlansman premiered at Cannes, Driver was on the red carpet. He even walked into the theater. But he snuck out when the lights went down.
“I go to a little room and wait there until it’s over,” Driver revealed. “[I] drink and then I go back [when it ends].”
