“I’m a difficult person. Everyone’s a difficult person.” Abrupt, unwashed, and honest to a fault, the character of Adam Sackler in Lena Dunham’s Girls (2012–17) was a knot of contradictions, one made plausible and (yes!) desirable by a breakout actor with the same first name. At 28, Adam Driver had an oil-and-water intrigue all of his own. He was a veteran of the Marine Corps and a graduate of The Juilliard School for performing arts; a broad-shouldered old soul in the mold of Robert Mitchum and a breath of fresh air all at once.
Five years of profoundly imaginative character work on television were a superlative advertisement for Driver’s ability to embody complex characters, alchemizing “difficulty” into solid-gold charisma. First to make their approach were directors Noah Baumbach and Steven Spielberg. Then came the Coen Brothers, Jeff Nichols, and Jim Jarmusch. Martin Scorsese followed, and after him Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, and Terry Gilliam. Driver’s screen credits are a who’s who of contemporary cinema’s most accomplished directors; their disparate sensibilities speak volumes of Driver’s adaptability and the breadth of his appeal.
This collection celebrates just that: the creativity of a protean actor whose stamina shows no signs of abating. Driver’s part in Frances Ha (2012), a privileged subletting millennial cosplaying as Jean-Paul Belmondo, marked the first of a five-film partnership with Baumbach. Still waters run deep with his versifying New Jersey bus driver in Paterson (2016), a meditation on the poetry of a modest life, lived moment to moment. From gentleness personified in standard-issue uniform to toxic masculinity in towelling dressing gown: In Leos Carax’s Annette (2021), Driver swaggers as a stand-up comedian, whose controversial sets are a warm-up for uxoricide. Pivoting again, Driver brings a low center of gravity to the architectural CG-spectacle of Megalopolis (2024), his soft-spoken engineer cantilevering Francis Ford Coppola’s $120 million–dollar dream palace.
No two of his roles the same, Driver is one of the most versatile and daring actors of his generation. As his upcoming films promise still more reinvention, still more revelation, we revisit the turns that led him here.

&#8220;I&#8217;m a difficult person. Everyone&#8217;s a difficult person.&#8221; Abrupt, unwashed, and honest to a fault, the character of Adam Sackler in Lena Dunham&#8217;s Girls (2012–17) was a knot of contradictions, one made plausible and (yes!) desirable by a breakout actor with the same first name. At 28, Adam Driver had an oil-and-water intrigue all of his own. He was a veteran of the Marine Corps and a graduate of The Juilliard School for performing arts; a broad-shouldered old soul in the mold of Robert Mitchum and a breath of fresh air all at once.
Five years of profoundly imaginative character work on television were a superlative advertisement for Driver&#8217;s ability to embody complex characters, alchemizing &#8220;difficulty&#8221; into solid-gold charisma. First to make their approach were directors Noah Baumbach and Steven Spielberg. Then came the Coen Brothers, Jeff Nichols, and Jim Jarmusch. Martin Scorsese followed, and after him Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, and Terry Gilliam. Driver&#8217;s screen credits are a who&#8217;s who of contemporary cinema&#8217;s most accomplished directors; their disparate sensibilities speak volumes of Driver&#8217;s adaptability and the breadth of his appeal.
This collection celebrates just that: the creativity of a protean actor whose stamina shows no signs of abating. Driver&#8217;s part in Frances Ha (2012), a privileged subletting millennial cosplaying as Jean-Paul Belmondo, marked the first of a five-film partnership with Baumbach. Still waters run deep with his versifying New Jersey bus driver in Paterson (2016), a meditation on the poetry of a modest life, lived moment to moment. From gentleness personified in standard-issue uniform to toxic masculinity in towelling dressing gown: In Leos Carax&#8217;s Annette (2021), Driver swaggers as a stand-up comedian, whose controversial sets are a warm-up for uxoricide. Pivoting again, Driver brings a low center of gravity to the architectural CG-spectacle of Megalopolis (2024), his soft-spoken engineer cantilevering Francis Ford Coppola&#8217;s $120 million–dollar dream palace.
No two of his roles the same, Driver is one of the most versatile and daring actors of his generation. As his upcoming films promise still more reinvention, still more revelation, we revisit the turns that led him here.

Performers We Love:  Adam Driver

PERFORMERS WE LOVE:  ADAM DRIVER

A devoted craftsman, playful as he is serious, Adam Driver stands apart as one of the more daring and deliberate actors of his generation. As his upcoming films promise still more reinvention, this collection celebrates some of his most memorable performances and the ambition of his career to date.

A devoted craftsman, playful as he is serious, Adam Driver stands apart as one of the more daring and deliberate actors of his generation. As his upcoming films promise still more reinvention, this collection celebrates some of his most memorable performances and the ambition of his career to date.