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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 7 January 2017

Adam Driver downshifts with

the pensive, poetic ‘Paterson’

one of the most electric en- practical action.”
ergies in movies, and possi- “I was very struck by the
This Dec. 14, 2016 photo bly the most arresting ac- idea that he understands
shows actor Adam Driver tor of his generation. While both sides,” Jarmusch said
poses for a portrait in New
York. Driver stars in the films, better known for the explo- of Driver while introduc-
“Paterson,” and “Silence.” sive volatility of his Kylo Ren ing the film at the Cannes
Associated Press on “The Force Awakens” Film Festival. “He has expe-
or on HBO’s “Girls,” Driver’s rience in the military and
JAKE COYLE underlying sweetness is he went to Julliard. These
AP Film Writer more on the surface in his two things are kind of im-
NEW YORK (AP) — Adam pensive performance in pressive to me because it’s
Driver prefers not to see the “Paterson.” breaking any kind of cliche
films and TV shows he’s in, He plays Paterson, a bus of either thing.”
a policy that he grants he’s driver and poet in Pater- So in awe of the filmmaker,
taken a little far. son, N.J. Jarmusch’s film is Driver agreed to do the film
“I haven’t seen ‘Lincoln’ a quiet marvel, full of rep- without reading the script.
and I have, like, the small- etition and patterns that Few experiences could ri-
est part in ‘Lincoln,’ Driver steadily accrue quotid- val the educations offered
says, chuckling. “It’s not ian beauty. Paterson goes by working with Jarmusch
called ‘Samuel Beckwith about his day-to-day life or Scorsese, both ardent
the Telegraph Operator,’ while composing poetry in aficionados of cinema with
it’s called ... ‘Lincoln.’ I his head or jotting it down wide, compulsive interests.
should watch it.” in his notebook. “Paterson They are, Driver says, “odd-
Even though he stars in two listens” dots the script. ly very similar even though
of the better films of the “A lot of acting is reacting,” they have completely dif-
year, Jim Jarmusch’s “Pa- Driver says. “You have to ferent ways of working.”
terson” and Martin Scorse- listen. It’s the key ingredi- “Jim’s not trying to dumb
se’s “Silence,” Driver won’t ent. For me, I love having a anything down to anyone
see either. It’s too excruci- lot of scenes where I don’t or make it palatable,” says
ating. have to talk and I get to lis- Driver. “And he sticks to it.
“I try not to because I’ve ten to other actors.” It’s not just something he
seen things I’ve been in A former Marine raised says. He lives his life by it.
before and it’s terrible,” in Mishawaka, Indiana, That’s kind of a rare thing.
says Driver. “I think it’s bad Driver embodies much of Now we’re oversaturated
and it’s film and film is for- Paterson’s duality. He gri- with everything. Everyone
ever. I want to change maces whenever he thinks says everything so much.
things. I kind of drive myself he sounds too much like But these people (Jar-
nuts and everyone around an actor and blanches musch and Scorsese) live
me nuts. It’s mostly about when the phrase “collab- by their principles.”
control. You really have no orative spirit” accidentally At 33, Driver has already
control, so I try to surrender escapes. Twice during a worked with a startling ar-
it.” friendly conversation at a ray of directors: Scorsese,
Driver’s attitude isn’t un- Manhattan hotel he stood Jarmusch, Steven Spiel-
common among perform- up to close a door to keep berg, the Coen brothers,
ers, but it hints at what dis- the chat private. Clint Eastwood, Jeff Nich-
tinguishes him as an actor. But while Driver shies away ols and Baumbach. This fall
For him, it’s about the ex- from broadcasting his more he also shot Steven Soder-
perience of building a role, thoughtful feelings about bergh’s return to feature
inhabiting it and then let- making art, he has already filmmaking, “Logan Lucky.”
ting it go. To play the poet- assembled a rich and var- “He found a way to do it
bus driver of “Paterson,” he ied gallery of artist portraits: where it’s on his terms and
got a bus driver’s license. the poet of “Paterson,” his he has the control that he
To play a Jesuit priest in aspiring filmmaker in Noah wants,” says Driver. “His
17th century Japan for “Si- Baumbach’s “While We’re setups move so fast that
lence,” he lost 51 pounds. Young,” an intrepid pho- there’s no momentum lost.
“It does turn into stunt- tographer in “Tracks,” a There’s no time wasted, so
sounding because you cowboy hat-wearing folk it almost feels like a pro-
have to talk about it so singer in the Coen brothers’ test.”
much,” Driver says. “But it “Inside Llewyn Davis,” his Naturally, Driver won’t be
is part of your job, I think. Broadway actor on “Girls.” seeing “Logan Lucky.” He
Why not investigate as Driver also founded the helped make it; the rest is
much as you can in the nonprofit Arts in the Armed out of his hands.
short amount of time that Forces , which performs “When I start thinking too
you have? It’s only three or monologues and scenes much, that’s when things
four months.” for members of the military get stalled,” he says. “The
With his laconic, lanky pres- and veterans. Its stated making of it is really fun and
ence, staccato line deliv- mission is to bridge the di- beyond that it’s not my re-
ery and baritone voice, vide between “the world sponsibility. It’s not my story.
Driver has quickly become of the arts and the world of It’s the director’s story. q