Not long ago, Adam Driver avoided the main roles and assured journalists that he was not sexy. But you can’t escape fate: during the past year we have not let his «principled and pitiful look» on posters and covers of magazines. I’m going to tell you how Adam Driver was confirmed as the main sex symbol of our time.
In 2013, Variety published an article about the «crisis of the new hero». The idea was, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Will Smith are getting old, and there’s no substitute for them. But it wasn’t so bad, literally for a couple of years appeared «new shift»: handsome with sad eyes (Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal), muscular alpha males (Channing Tatum), a couple of sensitive Englishmen (Benedict Cumberbatch, Eddie Redmayn) and the Chris Company (Evans, Hemsworth, Pine and Pratt). Adam Driver does not look like any of them. He is also not like the classic sex movie star as her/him is understood in Hollywood. So the times we live in are very different from those of previous decades.
Cary Grant, James Dean, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, and any guy in the Marvel universe were once the protagonists of the era. They all reflected their time and society’s idea of the perfect man. But that’s the thing, these performances were invented by men themselves – even in the best, softest version of themselves. About Adam Driver, a famous American feminist (and, by the way, a lesbian) once said he was invented by women. The driver is a reflection of the secret dreams of most of us, even if he is playing the major villains.
Equal play
By the way, Adam does not know the main term of the new era. «Toxic masculinity? What is it?» – He was naively interested in a journalist when she utters these words in a conversation. Of course, how could he know? His heroes never put themselves above the woman, even if she was killed. His heroes were always with a woman on equal footing and this is fair play.
And he’s also very real. You’ve never met Adam Driver (unless you live in California or New York), but this guy seems imperceptibly familiar. He looks like your neighbour, your party buddy, your first love. He is the stranger you may have waited your whole life for – not some unattainable handsome, but quite real, of flesh and blood, with an excessively long nose and placer birthmarks and freckles. He looks good in glasses, black T-shirts and suede jackets (Woody Allen seems to be the only one who wore them before Driver). He can be awkward, he can be embarrassed and forget to ask you for a phone. He’s not as confident as most men, and that, I must say, is turns.
Ear number two
Adam Driver really is what he seems. His army nickname was «ears number two» (it’s hard to believe, but there were people in his battalion with bigger ears). He began his career as a lawn mower and sold vacuum bags over the phone. He didn’t get in the first time at Juilliard, and his first night in California was spent on the beach – he just had a choice to spend the last dollar on a motel room or gas. While filming one of his first films, he met Frank Langella, who gave him a pair of old costumes – what was on Driver should have been given to the homeless long ago. «I remember Adam took these costumes, thanked him and went to the nearest metro station. By taxi is too expensive».
He remembers all this – therefore, receiving the regular award, thanks not only the director and wife, but also all the nameless screen workers and scenes, who work but get no glory. «There is nothing glamorous in my profession,- he says,- but it is sold as glamorous, and therefore everyone believes that it is so».
In his youth, he had no idea what he wanted to do, although he watched secretly from his stepfather-priest «Midnight Cowboy» and arranged in the backyard his fight club for 16-year-olds («The main rule of the fight club – do not kick eggs»). A couple of years later, he volunteered for the Army – he joined the Marines right after the September 11 tragedy. Three years in the army were not a pleasant pastime, Driver was dismissed after a severe break («I always fell and broke something»). And his entire battalion went to Iraq – Driver couldn’t forgive himself for a long time. But now his military card is a reason for respect from colleagues. Long gone are the days when actors served in the army – the last, I think, was Clint Eastwood or Paul Newman. The rest are now rushing to shake Driver’s hand with the words: «Thank you for your service».
Better late
His classmates at the Juilliard School of Art, where he entered the second time (at the entrance exam he read a monologue by Richard III of Shakespeare and sang Happy Birthday to You – did not come up with anything better), it was not easy. Driver, who had just returned from the army, did not understand how it was possible to come to the classroom with an unlocked shirt and be half an hour late.
Juilliard, to put it mildly, does not encourage his students to start working in theatre or film during their studies – and Driver has honestly made it to graduation. He played his first film role at the age of 27. Adam was sure that he would have to spend several years after graduation on the roles of «eat served» (he even came up with a backup plan for himself – to become a fireman). 26-year-old Lina Dunham, producer, screenwriter and ideological inspirer of the series «Girls» founded Driver. The woman was the first to realise the treasure that fell into her hands.
Man for a woman
«When we first saw him at the audition, we thought he was a real weirdo,” said Dunham. Maybe that’s why Driver got a very controversial role – his Adam Sackler, in full accordance with his last name, is a selfish jerk who uses women to his advantage.
But here is a paradox – he is still loved! The hero of Driver in «Girls» is a classic type of «bad boy», who can and should be re-educated. And if «Girls» is called the teenager version of «Sex in the Big City», then Adam Sakler is simultaneously Mr Big and Alexander Petrovsky (Russian boyfriend of Carrie Bradshaw). It’s no coincidence that Driver stayed on the show all six seasons – more than any other male character.
How many things did Adam Sackler do in «Girls»! People say that after seeing the opening scene with his participation – the one where he and Dunham have anal sex, Driver swore to watch himself on the screen. But, to the actor’s amazement, instead of hating him, the women began to reach out to him like magnets. One day, on the subway, a young lady came up to me and said, “I loved your “golden rain” scene. I could think of nothing better than to say, “Oh, yes, I would play it again and again”».
From «Girls» he was temporarily taken to the «male» world. In a short time, Adam played Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Soderbergh, the Cohen brothers. His professionalism and discipline were reminiscent of the best actors of the 1970s. For the tiny role of telegrapher in «Lincoln» Driver learned Morse code, for the role of priest in «Silence» lost 23 kg, for «Paterson» learned to drive bus, and for «Lucky Logan» – to prepare a cocktail with martini using one hand (his hero is disabled).
Cry, cry, stay with me!
There’s nothing wrong with crying, men cry too – and Driver heroes do it quite often. But real men have to be sensitive and strong at the same time – it’s a win-win combination for success in women. That’s what Driver uses. Such was Paterson from the Jarmusch film, a bus driver and poet whose poetry no one would ever read except his beloved wife. Or a knight in the sad image of Kylo Ren, living in the shadow of his evil grandfather Darth Vader. If in «Awakening of Power» Adam still pretended to be a villain (whom he wanted to deceive?), in «The Last Jedi» and especially in «Skywalker» we saw already tragically misunderstood hero-lover. He was the galactic Mr Darcy we were waiting for – the scene of Kylo Ren soaking in the rain was literally repeating the scene of «Pride and Prejudice». How can we forget kissing Ray the moment before we die?!
We never understood why Nicole decided to divorce Charlie in «Marriage History»: after all, he was almost the perfect man. Adam Driver played Charlie soft, sensitive, but able to fight for what he loves (we suspect that the apartment issue and greedy lawyers spoiled everything again). And in «Annette» everything went wrong by some strange coincidence of circumstances.
Even people far from the art house heard about «Annette»: this is the film in which Adam, playing the oral sex scene with Marion Cotillard, also sings a romantic aria. Yeah, you got that right. A romantic motorcycle lover (Driver never leaves his motorcycle helmet in his life) turns into a monster over time, because he simply can’t handle the love that has flowed over him. And this is the monster that the audience feels sorry for.
Feminist star
Scumbag Jacques Le Grie («The Last Duel» by Ridley Scott) seems sure to find no excuse. But by raping a woman, he’s convinced that he’s making love and that the chosen one feels the same way. It is no coincidence that Ridley Scott (a convinced feminist) invited Adam Driver to the «House of Gucci». Maurizio Gucci by Driver is another doomed romantic prisoner of his beliefs. The hot sex scene on the desk of a prospective father-in-law’s office is the best part of the film (and we are genuinely envious of Lady Gaga playing the role of his wife). The woman makes Maurizio worthy heir to her family name, advises him of the right commercial decisions and does not forgive him the banal infidelity. Driver again was not afraid to play a weak man, with a lot of shortcomings, but invariably attractive – because Gucci Junior has his own moral code and in relationships with women he is very honest.
Serious relationship
The amazing thing is, there’s not a single romcom in Adam Driver’s filmography. Romantic comedies – for those male actors who need to prove and confirm their status as a sex symbol. This is a waste of time for the Driver. It’s pretty clear about Driver as long as he’s himself on the screen, the girls will be in sync hysterically, like Lena Dunham said. And only his wife, Joanne Tucker, is entitled to proof, with whom they have been together for almost twenty years (and yes, about this too few people know). Another little fact in favour of Adam Driver, which makes him irresistible and very sexy, because there are so many single guys, but we love married people anyway.
This year will bring us more Adam. In Sai-fa «65» he will play an astronaut who lands on a desert planet and finds there… a nine-year-old girl.
The second film is even cooler: Noah Baumbach, who did with Driver «Marriage History» and the drama «While we are young», called him in the adaptation of «White Noise» Don Delillo. «White Noise» is a postmodernist novel, which many believe is not transferable to the screen, because most of the plot is a description of the various sounds that surround us. Obsessive advertising, phone calls, endless, nonbinding conversations that fill our lives. To put this soundtrack on pause can only message about the imminent death of all things – but this is not certain. Adam Driver plays in «White Noise» a professor of Hitler (yes, you read correctly) and the father of four children from three different wives.
Photo: courtesy of Burberry; kinopoisk.ru; shutterstock.com; dreamstime.com
