A Man Among Girls: Adam Driver

By Edith Zimmerman

From there, he got deeper into what it is that drew him to the craft. The core of which is, unsurprisingly, his experience in the theater, where he’s had roles both on and off Broadway. “You know, in theater, there’s, like, a collective intelligence that happens in the room, where everyone kind of falls into sync and is experiencing everything at the same time. When people get in a room [to watch TV] and experience something that is so familiar, that is so, you know… that finds a way to acknowledge the shitty parts about being alive. I mean, to be a part of that? Or to become a spearhead in that conversation? Like, what could be more gratifying? Well, probably delivering a baby or saving someone on the battlefield. That’s pretty gratifying. But to get to be able to use that service, that’s really gratifying to me. And then sometimes in theater—I’m just gonna monologue here—theater can get a little ridiculous because it’s like, oh, it’s the same people that always come to the theater, it’s gonna be a certain audience, who’s going to be able to pay fucking $300 to see some play? That’s the great thing about television, then. It kind of finds its audience. I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

I told him I thought it was.

Driver shares his Brooklyn Heights home with his wife, Joanne Tucker, who is also an actor (they met at Juilliard and both had parts in 2012’s Gayby). The two married last year, and although I briefly asked him about it—“So you got married last year”—and he replied—“Mmm”—I also figured that he probably didn’t talk about his personal life, which was true.

I’d also wanted to ask him more about the show, but he doesn’t watch it and never has.

You don’t watch the show.
I don’t watch the show, no.

Which is crazy to me, though.
Why?

I mean, I kind of get it. But you’ve never been tempted?
No. No, no. I mean, I’m there when it’s happening—

But don’t you feel like you’re missing out on the whole?
I do feel that. I don’t think it’s necessarily a good thing. But it instinctually doesn’t feel right to watch something while we’re in the middle of doing it. Like, even things that I just have a smaller part in, or when the focus on the movie doesn’t rest on my shoulders, I still can’t.

But like if it were a movie and it was done, you still wouldn’t watch it?
No.

Because I can see that with a TV show where you’re going to continue shooting, if you saw it, it might inform your view. You feel good about how it’s going, but then if you watch it, it might derailthings entirely?
Well, I mean, I drive myself crazy with it afterward, thinking of all the things that I wanted to do differently. But the things that I’m naturally attracted to are things that are really ugly and messy and not perfect. But since I’m more prone to trying to make it better, I feel like I have to stop myself from getting involved with it.