Adam Driver was ‘Uncomfortable’ Gaining Weight Playing an Older Man
White Noise was released on Netflix in December 2022. The film is the latest prestige project featuring a fan-favorite filmmaker – in this case, Noah Baumbach – and a cast of celebrated actors. Adam Driver leads the film as a professor whose family life is thrown into disarray. The actor is famous for committing to his roles. For White Noise, Driver revealed he was uncomfortable with the weight he gained to play his character.
Adam Driver co-stars with Greta Gerwig in 2022’s ‘White Noise’
White Noise is Baumbach’s follow-up to his Academy Award-winning 2019 movie, Marriage Story. It’s also the first time he’s directed a movie that wasn’t based on one of his own original scripts. Rather, White Noise is an adaptation of the 1985 novel by Don DeLillo. As it was long considered unfilmable, perhaps its divisive response isn’t much of a surprise.
Despite a cast that includes Driver, Greta Gerwig, and Don Cheadle, White Noise has a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. While by no means poor, that total does indicate a muted reaction from critics, particularly after Marriage Story‘s 95 percent score. Still, White Noise might be exactly the kind of wild swing Driver was looking for in his fifth collaboration with Baumbach.
Shooting ‘White Noise’ made Adam Driver feel ‘uncomfortable’
White Noise held its world premiere in August 2022 at the Venice Film Festival. And it was there that Driver discussed his character’s distinct look. In the book, Driver’s character, Jack Gladney, is roughly 50 years old and has a receding hairline. So the actor worked hard with the movie’s crew to bring DeLillo’s creation to life.
“We talked about the look,” Driver told Entertainment Tonight Canada at the Venice Film Festival. “I don’t have a receding hairline. So we thought we’d add that. So we did. … I put on weight, and we had a back-up stomach. But we didn’t need the back-up stomach, and it was just my weight. And that was uncomfortable.”
Adam Driver has 2 exciting new film projects on the way
It’s been a busy few years for Driver. Following the conclusion of his three-film run as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy in 2019, Driver has appeared in four films: White Noise, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, and Annette. And he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. In fact, Driver has two highly anticipated movies set for release sometime in 2023.
First up is 65, a sci-fi thriller that sees Driver’s character stranded on a prehistoric version of Earth. And Driver plays Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s aptly titled Ferrari, a new biopic that aims to shed some light on the life of the Italian driver and entrepreneur. Beyond that, Driver is slated to star among the ensemble cast of Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi drama Megalopolis.
