Adam Driver Found Star Wars 'Exhausting' - But Admits It Was His Fault
The "Star Wars" sequel trilogy wasn't always the best experience for the actors who starred in it. Some, like Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Kelly Marie Tran, faced extensive backlash online from sexist and racist trolls masquerading as fans. In the case of Adam Driver, it wasn't the fan response that made his time on set difficult but his acting method as it related to the nature of the production.
During an appearance on the podcast "SmartLess," Driver candidly discussed how challenging it was to play Kylo Ren. "It was a massive adjustment," he said, referring to the franchise's massive scope and scale. "Star Wars was way more exhausting for me. I made it more exhausting than it should have been because I hadn't quite figured out the momentum of a set that was that big before. All the things I had worked on were pretty small and moved pretty fast." He explained that he typically likes to maintain a higher pace and momentum during filming, which is hard to do on a project with so many moving parts.
Despite these tradecraft struggles, Driver still spoke pretty positively about his time in "Star Wars" overall. Unfortunately for fans, he also doubled down on his previous statements about being done with the franchise.
Adam Driver doesn't have any interest in returning to Star Wars
With Rey (Daisy Ridley) returning for "Star Wars: New Jedi Order," some fans have been hoping that Ben Solo might also. Though the character dies at the end of "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker," his unique relationship with Rey as half of their Force dyad hasn't been explored much. And you don't even need to be part of a dyad to return as a Force ghost.
However, Adam Driver has emphasized that he's not interested in working with Lucasfilm on another "Star Wars" project. In the same interview, he said he's aware of the studio's upcoming plans but isn't involved. Though he didn't give a reason — one isn't necessary given his passion for other projects and his character's death — Driver has spoken before about how stressful it can be to star in such a massive movie.
"When I watched the premiere, I felt sick to my stomach," the actor told GQ in 2017, referring to "The Force Awakens." "The people behind me, when the scroll started, were like, 'Oh my god. Oh my god. It's happening.' Immediately, I thought I was going to puke. I was holding my wife's hand, and she's like, 'You're really cold. Are you okay?' Because I just knew what was coming — I kill Harrison — and I didn't know how this audience of 2,000 people was going to respond to it, you know?"
Driver's role in Star Wars isn't exactly what he signed up for
In various interviews, including his appearance on "SmartLess," Adam Driver has revealed that Kylo Ren's arc changed significantly by the end of the sequel trilogy. When he was first brought on, he wasn't able to see a script. Instead, director J.J. Abrams walked him through the general character arc that would play out over the three movies.
"To be asked to do it, I thought about it a lot because, again, I didn't want to be bad in it," Driver said. "How it was pitched to me was ... that his journey was supposed to be the opposite of Vader's, in that, as opposed to someone who's the most dark from the beginning and then by the end of the series becomes the most vulnerable, he starts the most vulnerable and becomes, little by little, committed to the dark side."
Of course, this direction was ultimately scrapped, with "The Rise of Skywalker" providing a quick redemption arc for Ben Solo right before his noble sacrifice reviving Rey. The idea that this was a last-minute change has upset some "Star Wars" fans, but it certainly doesn't diminish the emotional performance Driver put in throughout the trilogy.