Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
All right, here we go. Here we go. Three hot mics. A good guest, I'm thinking, I'm hoping. Sean, when was the last time you had three hot mics? Mike.
That was like in my early 20s. My early 20s. Yeah, yeah. And by the way, it was confusing. We didn't know which end was up. I bet. None of them wanted to be called Michael. No, uh-uh. Mike, Mike, Mike. All right. And they were all equally hot? They were all equally hot. Okay. Well, welcome to Smartless. Smart. Less. More.
That was fun that we got to see each other today. I know, just a half an hour ago. In person. Yeah, listener, very rarely will the three of us actually see each other in person before we start doing this. And...
We didn't expend any magic that we won't have left for the show. No, we saved. We kept a real try. The magic got staved for sure. I got to say, Jason was not feeling well and he was on the other side of the table at this big conference room. And I got home, I got a little tickle on my throat. You do not.
-I don't know. -It's in your head. -Well-- -Really? My virus has great reach on it. Did it-- Well, I don't know. But, Jay, that was so-- Like, Will said that was so nice of you if you're feeling sick to go to the party on Saturday, too. Yeah, it was nice of you. Well, but I didn't really feel it just yet. I wasn't really sure, you know. I would have never known you were in a good mood and lovely on Saturday. Jason did this game-- He did this game. What game?
I was standing outside, Sean, and you had just left. We didn't see each other, but Jason came out and he was holding two cupcakes. One was a big, normal-sized one, and one was a tiny baby one. Today, when we just left? No, no, no, at the party on Saturday. And he's got these cupcakes, and he's doing a whole dance with it. And he's eating the little one, and then somebody said to him,
Why did you have... Well, I'm just going to eat the little one and I just got this one. So he continued to talk and he put the big one, normal one down and he eventually... Well, first of all, he was like, have you seen this before? And he took the top off and he turned it upside down and ate it like a sandwich so that you always get an icing bite. But then he put it down and then this person said that
He put it down, then he put it a little further away, and then he just went over and he walked it over to another table. Is that right, JB? Because you were like, it's too tempting close to you. You don't want to have a grenade near you. Wait, I did not know that there was cupcakes there. Sean, that was not the point. Here's why you don't know.
Fuck me, man. Well, first of all, you drifted over, you know, I gave everyone a very useful lesson as to how to eat a cupcake, which a lot of people don't know, right? I didn't know that. You twist off the top, you flip it over, you make it a sandwich, and then you don't get frosting up your nose. That's A. B.
The reason you don't know there were cupcakes there, Sean, is because you did what you always do very rudely. Very rudely. You're the first one at a party so that you can say you were there and that you can't get yelled at when you leave early because you've put in a bunch of time and you get your food and then you pack up your shit and you leave before anyone is even there yet.
And you're like, I want to go home. Yeah, everybody does, man. I do want to go. There was a birthday cake that came out later and some singing. So why did you leave? Why did you go at seven when it started and then leave so early? Me and Richard were there and Jenny were there. Richard and I. Tricky Dicky. Richard and I were there. And first. And no, I enjoy going to those things. I was happy to go. I just, you know, I don't have a long fuse for parties. Yeah.
I'm the one with the short fuse because I can't get into my cups like everyone else. That's true. You start laughing at shit that doesn't deserve to be even smiled at. Did you have the chili? I had the chili. Yeah, the chili. I had the chili at the time when everyone else had it. Where did you get the cupcakes? JB goes to one point, we're sitting outside, and he goes, I got to get out of here. And he said, he's like said like three times, I said, where are you going? And he goes, I got a gummy and a Lakers game to get into, man. Shit.
And that late at night on a Saturday? He was taping. You know, I mean, I record the game. Ah.
And Jason's beard and hair is growing so gloriously long. It's crazy. I know. It was the talk of the party. No. Yeah, it was. It looks good. What, how I can't really grow facial hair? No, you look good. No, it looks good like that. Yeah, shut up. It looks good. Where do you see it in three more months when it looks really bad? No, thank you. No, I, well, not no thank you, but also I doubt it. I think it looks really good. Whose guest is it today? It's my guest, and guess what?
What? You're going to be real psyched. Hey, guess what? Guess what? Sean. Thank you. It's true. You guys are going to be...
Let us guess. We've never really guessed. Okay. So male or female? No, guess. You want to be a big... Well, can you... You know what? You're going to narrow it down. I'm going to get five guesses to nail it down. Male. A little bit narrower. Male. Okay. Actor? Yes. Older or younger than us? Younger. Decidedly. Okay. Decidedly. Well, not decidedly, but...
More than two years. This is a person who is a America or the world. He has to get ready for this. His awards nominations has its own Wikipedia page. Really? Christ. And this is mostly film or television or music? Mostly film. Some television back in the, but mostly film. I mean, two Academy Award nominations, two BAFTAs, four Emmys. Is this person British? No, American. Uh-huh.
Three Globes, five SAG Award nominations, Tony Award nomination, Critics' Choice, Up the Wazoo, every critic. I'm nervous now. You know what? Here, I'll give you a list of the names of all the directors this guy's worked with. You ready for this? Tell me if you like any of these names. Ridley Scott. Okay. Terry Gilliam.
Steven Soderbergh, Martin Scorsese. Is this Russell? J.J. Abrams. Did I just guess it right? No. Noah Baumbach. Adam Driver? Sean Levy. Yeah, it's Adam Driver. Did I get him? No way! Bring him on out. Listen.
That's my brother. That's my sweet, sweet brother. That's why I said you're going to be... You guys know each other? Yeah. We worked on a project together. Adam, you were awesome on Saturday Night Live. Amazing. I just watched it. Show it, dude. Thank you.
Hysterical. The beep beeps? You know, it's just like when you get a real actor in there doing Saturday Night Live, every sketch works, you know? This guy's making choices. Yeah. Yeah, and I noticed that. Is that the key to Saturday Night Live? I don't know. I think he's just sensitive to the material and he's a funny dude, obviously. Well, he's making choices. Good choices. I've seen some good actors fucking bomb on SNL. Let's be honest.
Yeah, that's true. But he's just got, Adam, you were so good. You were so funny. Your timing is so fucking good, dude. We are dating this episode, but all good. What about the piano playing? That seemed very real. I know, I was blown away. Yeah, it was real. Is that you? Yeah, yeah.
That's amazing. Oh, my God. I'd love to see a piano off between you. That's a term, right? A piano off between you and Sean. I don't know if they use that. I'd lose. Yeah, yeah. That's a term. I'd lose. Adam, tell me about that. How long did you play piano? Did you study? Well, I played since I was a kid, but my mom tried to teach me, so it wasn't very – I didn't stick to it. I feel like you're supposed to. You could cancel. Right. You're not supposed to, right?
You're not supposed to have a parent teach you how to play piano because you never actually stick with it. Is that true? That's why I dropped it. You know, my parents thought they were being real crafty when I said, I don't want to play. I hate practicing. You're going to practice. They would make me, and you have the same material for a week, right? Because you have lessons once a week. And so they would say, we're going to find out whether you're practicing or not. You're going to record your lesson. Sorry, you're going to record your practice, and we're going to play it when we get home from work.
And so I just record it once on the Monday and then just playing the same tape all week. And like they never figured it out. It was not a lot of progress from Monday to Sunday. But yeah, that was it. They weren't bright, but they were strict. And you've always been such a fucking shit. Yeah.
Yeah, I know. You've always been just a little shit since the day you were fucking born. It's not about me, though. Let's talk to Adam. Adam Driver. Dude, dude, I'm so stoked to have you on here. Oh, my God. This is so wild. I just think you're so—you're just such a talented dude. Everything you do is so fucking great. Thanks. Yeah, man. And then when I start to find out when I—like, looking back and, you know, looking about your sort of your background, I mean, you didn't—
It seems to me, and tell me if I'm wrong, you're from Southern California, right? Were you raised in Southern California? No, I was raised in Indiana. I lived in San Diego until I was seven. Okay, so until you were seven, you were raised in Indiana. Then how...
9/11 hits, you join the military, right? You go into the Marines, and I know you've talked about it before, but you go in-- But it just seems like you had to kind of go a long way to get-- But you knew what you wanted to do. Like, you wanted to go to Juilliard the first time when you were 17, is that right? - Wow. - Yeah.
And then you ended up going later, like, walk me through. I just, what I'm sort of driving at is... You will get to talk at some point, I swear. Get ready. I'm fine. I could just listen to you guys. You're just a dude who is destined to do, like, you knew what you wanted to do, and it was fucking, you were just going to get there no matter what.
Kind of. I did plays in high school, and then I auditioned for Juilliard because they didn't check grades. That was the prerogative of colleges that I was going to. And I knew that Juilliard had a reputation of being the best acting school for theater. And then I didn't get in, and then...
9-11 happened and I feel like a lot of people a lot of friends in Indiana all thought they were going to join but then none of them did and then I was the only one that did um kind of like we all got right riled up and then I was the only one that actually walked through the door and then and then and then it wasn't until I was in the military really that I'm like oh if if I get uh
you know, if I get to be a civilian again or when I get to be a civilian again, I knew I wanted to go back and try again to be an actor.
Now, was that ever in question, by the way? How deep did you get into your military exploits? I loved it. The whole plan when I was in the military was to make a career of it, was to retire, you know, in the Marine Corps. Oh, really? Yeah. And then it was only because I had a mountain biking accident, I broke my sternum, that I tried to train on it so I could still go overseas because all of the guys that I went to...
boot camp and then SOI and then went into the fleet with, you know, it was all the same kind of core group of people. And then they were all going to go do a Westpac of Iraq and Afghanistan. And, and, and again, I, I was kind of trying to train on a broken sternum so I could go
go with them and I got dropped to a different unit and all my friends went and so I it was not good. It was taking a long time to heal so I had to be medically separated. You didn't get to go. So wait, so you were joining the Marine Corps as a response to 9-11 or you wanted to do it anyway? It was kind of two-fold. It was a response to 9-11 but also I wasn't doing anything. I was working
I had two telemarketing jobs, and I was working at a... I'd love to hear a little bit of that script. One was for a basement waterproofing company called Ben Franklin Construction. And then the other one was... Are things smelling dank downstairs? Don't hang up. I...
I used to have to read that same script, but for a different business. Really? For a different business. Sure, sure. I know. Wink, wink. So keep going. But that was kind of it. And I got something in the mail, and my stepdad and I were having an argument about me being a loser and not having any jobs.
And he kind of like offhandedly said maybe you should join the military. And again, it was in the same time of everyone kind of being like, well, we want to get involved and do something. So it kind of all kind of coalesced. And I think I made the decision by January and by February I was gone. So much so that they were like, are you on the run from the law? Because usually people take a... You're very eager, Mr. Driver. Wow, that's crazy. How's your relationship with your stepdad now? That's good. It's surprisingly good. Yeah.
Yeah? Is he proud of you? Yeah. I guess you won the question of whether or not you were a loser. You overachieved. Not only am I going to join the military, but I'm going to go through boot camp, I'm going to become a Marine, and then I'm going to kick ass in the completely opposite end of the world as well. Yeah, and become a fucking movie star. I mean, it's pretty remarkable. So you come back from serving, you leave the military, or you get discharged, as you said, in...
And then you're like, what, back at square one? You're like, I mean, how do you climb the mountain that you've climbed? Like, what was... You reapply to Juilliard, yeah? I reapply to Juilliard. Actually, I should say, before I left for the military, I tried coming to L.A. and doing the whole acting thing. And that totally failed. I had, like, a Lincoln Town car, and I was paying rent in the back of my parents' house.
And I loaded up this massive car and I drove cross country to California and I broke down in Amarillo, Texas and wound up spending all my money fixing my car. So by the time I got to Santa Monica, not even LA, I was here for 48 hours before I had to turn around and drive right back because I didn't have any more money. I had no money to stay. I drove out too from Chicago and my car broke down in Colorado, like around a mountain. And I was dragging the muffler for like the last...
And I had to pull over. It cost me a thousand bucks, but I made it. Oh, really? Yeah, same. I slept in my car. It was outside of Amarillo, Texas. And I got a hitched a ride into town and then took my car and got it fixed. But that was all my money. I had just 200 bucks left, which I knew from having just made the trip.
was enough gas money to get home. And I made a whole production about saying goodbye to everybody back in India. Sure. And then 48 hours later, you're back. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't believe that. Jesus. But, you know, Adam, a lot of people would, after an experience like that, which is, I mean, that's...
Not traumatizing, but it's a lot. Like you go through, you make the, like you said, you make a big production out of, I'll see you guys later. You give your farewell to the troops as it were. And then a week later, you're back or less. And then, and then you go, and then you go and you go into the military. A lot of people would be like, you know what?
the universe was trying to tell me something or it's... It's a lot to pick yourself up again and to go, no, I want to fucking do this. This is kind of what I'm getting at at the beginning, which is like, no, you're determined. You knew that you had a purpose in this world, especially doing this. Not really, no. I still didn't want to...
The idea of being an actor was like being an astronaut. I had no connections to anybody in the acting world and in a small town in Indiana. So I just kind of put that idea to bed. I still liked movies, but I just kind of gave up on that. And then when the Marine Corps came along, I fully threw myself at that. And it was only during the military –
where I, I felt like, well, in comparison to the Marine Corps, civilian life, I think should be pretty easy. You know, I knew that New York was kind of what I wanted to do if I ever got out and having, you know, I could, I could sleep in the Central Park. Like I felt, I felt more confident that I could be an adult and survive. How did you know you were any good at, at acting? Um,
In high school, the response I got from people was positive. But it's a high school in Indiana. I didn't really know until I auditioned for Juilliard the second time. Right, so how did that happen? So you get out of the military. How do you audition the second time? What was that process like? So I got out and I went to a school called University of Indianapolis. And then I started getting parts and plays right away.
And I knew that the audition date for Juilliard was, they had three days, four days in New York. They don't do this now, but they used to do four days in New York, four days in Chicago and four days in LA.
And I knew they were auditioning in Chicago in February. So I drove up and I stayed the night and I auditioned in Chicago. And then, yeah, then I found out I got in like two months later. Did you enjoy your time in the Marine Corps? And while you were there, were you thinking about acting the whole time? Like, I can't wait to get out of here? No, no, no. I enjoyed it until a point. And then I...
really because I was on the verge of being separated and all my guys kind of left. Yeah. That I, you know, then I'm like, okay, then maybe I shouldn't, this, I'm not long for this. Yeah. That's weird because the whole time Sean's acting, he's thinking about Marines. So, listen. Like a yin-yang thing. I mean, it's great. I get it. I get it, Adam. I get it. So, you come to fucking Chicago. It blows me away, man. I just, it's just like...
Not long shot because you're obviously a mega talented dude, but you go and you audition and then two months later you find out it's your fucking dream. What's your reaction when you find out you get into Juilliard? It was beyond. I was working full time at a Target distribution warehouse and going to school full time at University of Indianapolis, so it was kind of pulling...
all-nighters and then going to school full-time. So I was, you know, beyond, you know, jumping and screaming all the... It must have felt like getting, like, this is your chance. You're going to get pulled into this...
out of your world and into this other world that you've been trying to get into and you've been dreaming of. This is about to happen. It must have felt like that. But I wasn't even thinking of like, oh, now I'm going to be an actor in plays or now I'm going to be in films. Just the idea of going to New York was enough. And the...
uh, you know, the, the, the alumni of Juilliard, I w I was very aware of and, and how, you know, it's a conservatory and it was a great place to put a lot of, uh, energy, you know, it was in the early twenties. So did you have a good idea of what, what, what, I mean, obviously you got a very good idea of what it would be like to live in New York. We all see it in TV and movies and whatnot, but Juilliard itself, did you have a pretty decent idea of what that
was going to be like? And if so, did it match with that idea once you got there? No frame of reference for what living in New York would be. Well, other than films that, but no frame of reference of like an acting conservatory. A lot of the kids in my class were four years younger than I was and kind of had gone to performing arts schools or they were there for their graduate degree. They don't do this anymore. Even if you went to an undergrad program, you would get your diploma, you know, but now it's a graduate program also.
So people had come from performing arts backgrounds, and I didn't. So when I moved to the city the summer before I started, I would go to the performing arts library and try to read plays that everybody knew that I didn't know, like Tony Kushner plays. That's so cool. David Mamet plays, and I'd watch the performances in the video library. At Lincoln Center? At Lincoln Center, yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's so cool. You know, I...
You know, I know you did Burn This in 2019. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I did that in college, of course. I played Larry. You played Pail, of course. We would have been a brilliant match. We would have been great. But a friend of mine was in the play, and on the huge marquee downtown LA, he did Burn This, and they didn't separate the letters, so it looked like burnt his. And so that's what we referred to. That's LA theater for you. That's LA theater. Yeah. And we will be right back.
All right, back to the show.
Now, Adam, I've never met you. I'm a huge fan. I'm like chomping at the bit to ask you about Star Wars, which I'm sure you're sick of talking about. Just cool it. But I know I won't cool it. But I'm a huge fan. Sorry, we apologize. But you do seem like not knowing you at all. You seem to be a very kind, sweet, down-to-earth, intelligent, yet introverted person. And so what is it like doing something like Saturday Night Live, which is the opposite of being introverted, and it's just going balls out like...
Is it scary and is that why you wanted to do it? Or is it like just another job? No, well, it's kind of theater, I mean, in a way. So that's what I at least try to remind my... But it's terrifying. Yeah, it is. But I enjoy how it feels like theater on film. I like those old school...
plays on tape that they used to do live, Richard Burton, you know, doing Camelot. And that's the only modern day equivalent of a show that does that. And I really enjoy the pressure. I don't know, it's massive. But I'm also on my best behavior in things like this and in public. The real egomaniacal asshole that's just waiting to come out all the
all the time. We can't wait to meet him. Yeah, I spent a few weeks with you. Bring him out, please. You did seem beautifully relaxed. Yeah, well, I mean, there was an energy there for sure, but you certainly weren't terrified. No, no, no. It was pretty cool. Yeah, the last, I mean, the first time I did it, I thought I was, you know, going to pass out when, you know, walk out. But this time, you know, I
I felt at ease. And I enjoy the pressure and I like it when there's a lot to do, you know, in this...
When the pressure's on and there's a lot of text and a lot of moving pieces and a lot of things falling apart, I actually kind of enjoy it. It reminds me of theater. I noticed you're not really reading the cards that much either. Did you try to commit certain lines to memory so you could perform them well? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I don't like it usually when you can kind of tell that someone's reading the cards and it kind of destroys the illusion. And when they're well written, it's easy to memorize. So some of it is, it's not that difficult. They hate it when you don't read the cards, though.
Is there one sketch that you particularly loved doing last Saturday? There's one that I really liked that was cut. It was this one called Court Case, and it was this three-page speech that's not funny at all. And I really... And it only works if it's played as if it's absolutely serious, and we cut it.
But then they released it online afterwards. But I loved that for the – at the dress, everyone – I loved the dead air and how awkward it was in the audience. I loved the – Wait. Are they doing that now? Are they putting the dress online? Yeah. Some of it. Some of it. They – Oh, that's cool. With those, there was two of them that they released. It's like Court Case 1 and this one called Actor's Journey. And they –
Because Tracy Dress is short for dress rehearsal. That's such a cool idea. For Tracy, let her know that they do dress rehearsal earlier on Saturday night. It's like a full performance of the show with some additional sketches, and they cut a couple sketches before the live show. Dress usually is over by about 10, 10.30, and then the live show is 11.30. But I think that's cool because there have been so many great...
so many great sketches over the years that were cut after dress for various reasons and not always because they didn't work just because sometimes political they also don't like the term skit either it's sketch right yeah yeah never say skit yeah uh
But I like it. I like Lorne. I like the – yeah, it feels like a – Yeah, you're very comfortable in it. You're so great at comedy too. Yeah, you're really good at it. Do you have – you're not a strategic guy. You're so beautifully down to earth with your career it seems. But do you ask your people to look for –
versus drama and try to keep a balance there or is it just kind of like the best script wins? Yeah, lately now because I'm trying to change because I was working consistently basically all through my 30s and now that I have two kids I've been trying to switch of how I've been working, you know, where I'm... Now I'm just like I can't be gone that long and I don't want to be gone that long anymore. So I'm trying to...
Probably like game the system. And for me, the only way is now is trying to work on things from the beginning. If, you know, if I can, but I'm not against it. It's just whatever. No one's really asked me to do something like that. And I haven't found anything that I really, you know, wanted to do. But if something came along, I would totally do it. But you don't sort of like wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the ceiling and go like...
I need to do a comedy. No, no, no. I'd like to. I mean, I'd like to, but if I also don't want it to be bad, you know, so I, you know, the, the, you know, the Albert Brooks of it to me is like, you know, you know, the, the top, there's not a lot of people that are writing like that and you really got to find them. And, um, they're tough. Yeah. They're tough to find. Um, how old are your kids?
Eight months is my youngest and six is my other one. My kids are five years apart. Are they? Is that good for you? Yeah. I mean, it's good because one gets to help you take care of the other, or at least they think they are. But then like, you know, hanging out, you know, at a certain age is like, it's not, you know, when they, what are they now? 17 and 12. It's, you know, like they're going to be closer when they get older. Yeah.
But there are times when that five-year gap is not worse. Although, JB, I will say one of the nice things I've seen a couple times is your 17-year-old dropping your 12-year-old at school because they go to the same school. That's pretty funny. Watching Franny drop Maple was one of the funniest fucking things. That's funny. I don't like it, though. I miss it.
I know. How are you liking dad's stuff? I love it. I love it. Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm in what you're describing as science fiction to me, the idea that one kid will... Even now, he is very protective over her, and I feel like we gave him six years of attention, and he's totally fine. And if you're like me, you missed changing diapers. You missed swaddling. You missed... I was so excited to get to do it again. Oh, I am not. I love it.
No? No. This time I'm like, oh, yeah, we forgot how much babies suck. You know, they don't tell you anything. They get runny noses and it just destroys the next three days. And they have sleep regressions and they're teething. I mean, I am more aware this time that I'm like, oh, this is finite. I have to remember this because it's going to go away quickly. Where the first time I wasn't, I was so anxious for him to get older.
And also the first time you're not, because you've never done it, you're like, is this normal? Should he be sick this much? Should he be not eating? He hasn't eaten for two days. Jesus fucking, you end up having those. We have a three and a half year old and we've just kind of just emerging from it again after my older kids are...
or teenagers, and I'm like, "Fuck, man, I just forgot exactly what you're talking about. I just forgot all that shit." Waking up in the night, all the fucking-- I'm like, "Fuck." And they're durable. I mean, the first one, you don't realize how durable they are. And the second one, you're like, "Ah, it's fine. She's fine. She's okay." Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, "Forrest Awakens," Star Wars. I just wanna-- Well, let's talk about how you diaper your dog, Sean. Real quick.
No, I just want to get through it so you guys don't have to suffer. Again, Adam, we apologize. And then we can move on. Do you want to call Scotty in here? Yeah, I did. I texted him. You did. Yeah. He wrote, well, everybody knows it's no secret that me and Scotty are huge fans. Sean's husband, Scotty, the two of them are like the massive. Adam might not be up on you and Scotty's movie taste. Yeah, that's okay. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm telling you.
No, everybody who listens is listening. So, Adam, when you... Again, that's like 25 people. Here we go. Question, please.
25 people. We're good. So I have the obvious stock questions, which is, is it real? Please don't tell me it's not real. Yeah. Please tell me it's all real. Totally real.
I'm there now. Oh, God. I'm there now. No, I want to know, like, were you a fan before? What was it like getting, you know, getting, like, getting that call to be like, you're part of this iconic thing? Okay, sorry. Uh,
What was the first one? The first one was like... Were you a fan? I was a fan. I grew up... My dad was more of a Star Trek fan than a Star Wars fan, but I did have a couple Star Wars toys that we got at garage sales. But I was a fan of the movies, yeah. Then to be asked to do it was...
I thought about it a lot because, again, I didn't want to be bad in it. So you got an offer. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got an offer, but there was no script to read, which I'd never done before. So you had to commit to it. J.J. walked me through the whole thing, but there was no script that you could actually see how that played out. But also, Adam, I'm sure you thought at the time –
Because I was certainly, we had just finished working together. I was very well aware of you, your talent, your position in the community, what your potential was as far as jobs and fancy directors and all that stuff. I'm sure at a point you must have thought, even though you're not a strategic thinker, annoying like that, must have thought, well, I don't want to sign up for something where
this is going to be louder than anything I'll ever do in my career. Am I tying myself to this for multiple films? And was, did any of that go, go through your head? I'm sure it must have a little bit. No, actually, no, I never thought that this was going to be the only job I got. I mean, I don't know why I didn't think that it was going to be, I didn't think I'd do anything bigger than that. But I, I, I,
I had hoped, I was optimistic that I would work after it, you know, and hopefully not, you know. But I wasn't thinking that too far ahead like that, of what the end result of it would be, because the end result could also be you were in a movie that everybody saw and nobody liked, and they didn't like you in it, and they didn't like the movie, and the idea that some...
a movie of that scale that anyone would actually watch it. Like I was just coming from girls and you know, the, this is where I leave you and, and I tried. - You were so great in that movie. - Thanks. And it was very, - Impassionate people about it. Like Sean would be like, what, what, what is he doing in this? And he's ruining the franchise. You don't want that. - No, I would never.
But it's got to be cool to go through the process of seeing the drawings of your character and then the fittings, the costume fittings, and then touching the props and all that stuff must have been so surreal. Touching the props. Don't wreck your pants, John. Jeez.
That is so cool. By the way, you're one of the few people that I turned to Scotty and I said, I have such a massive talent crush on that guy. Yeah. Just because you're so good in everything you do, but especially in that franchise. I agree. You know what is amazing? And kind of also this kind of fits in Jason a little bit with what you were saying is like, you know, you do like these, you know, Star Wars, one of the most, you know,
I don't know if there's a bigger sort of brand in terms of film and, you know, maybe it's sort of the Marvel cinema universe and all that kind of shit. But you do that, and not only does it not paint you into a corner, it kind of does the opposite. It opens you up to all these people globally, and then you continue going. I said at the start when the boys were trying to guess who my guest was,
If you look at the list of directors that you've worked with, it's almost peerless, man, in that way. It's remarkable how many of these incredible, some of the greatest directors of our time have all asked you to come and go on these sort of creative journeys with them. And that's got to feel very...
And I guess, you know, I also noticed like the way that you talk about stuff, like, yeah, you are not a strategic thinker. Like, it seems like you are like, you just kind of go with...
What inspires you? Am I right about that a little bit? Well, yes and no. I'm not strategic in that I'm like, oh, this needs to make money. So we, although I should think that way. I do get now that you don't do movies that make money. They'll stop asking you to make movies. So that's what I've been told. But in my mind, it's a filmmaker's medium. So I'm strategic in that. Well, isn't the goal then to work with
great filmmakers and, and, and, uh, you know, sometimes I, I feel like if I connect with it, then I can, uh, but I've people that I've wanted to work with where the thing that they wanted to do, I knew I couldn't do, or I felt like I wouldn't get there. And so I, I'm not, I'm not really answering your question, but I am strategic in that, like, um,
you know, it's a filmmaker's medium. It's a, you know, plays are a playwright's medium. You know, TV seems to be a writer's medium. That's, you know, those are the people that I always wanted to work with and I made myself available to try to work with them if it came up. You've also in the last two years played two very significant, portrayed two very significant Italian men
one a designer and both incredible creative minds, if you think about what... within their thing, right? You played...
Maurizio Gucci and Enzo, and now you're playing currently Enzo Ferrari. I mean, that's... Yeah, I guess that's a good example of not being strategic in a way that I probably should. So many people have been like, how many... I'm like, it just kind of worked out that way. Yeah, yeah. I think someone probably should have said, you know, like maybe because it's going to come up a lot, you know, but I'm like, well, it's Ridley and it's Michael and I've... In my mind, the
some of the best filmmakers of all time. Who gives a shit that there's two Italians back to back? Exactly. Yeah, who gives a shit? And also, like you said, two incredible filmmakers and two great stories.
Yeah. So who gives a shit what it is? You'd make 10 in a row probably, I imagine you would, if there were great stories and great directors, right? Yeah, well, probably not Italians anymore, though. Yeah, okay. Because I'm surprised how much it comes up, you know, it's like, you know, you have a thing, I'm like, it's two, it's two Italians, you know, like, it's just two people. I know, I know. It's like, I'm like, oh, right, you know, these things are not a place, I mean, this is, but...
press isn't a place that you have a nuanced conversation. That seems like a hard idea of like, well, what is it with Italy? Well, I mean, it's less to do with Italy, although I like it, but it's more about, you know, Ridley Scott and Michael Mann and the projects themselves and
Italy is not the first thing on my mind. Right, right, right. You're not calling your agents going like, hey, give me another great Italian role to play. Yeah, right, right. Campari, I hear, is not done yet. All right, let's go. I like the corner of that market. What about, were you into car racing at all beforehand? No. No, it probably didn't matter, right? I was into cars. I was into car, but I couldn't, you know, I wasn't, you know, I wasn't.
I knew of Ferraris mostly from Miami Vice, you know. - Yeah. - And, but it was unattainable. It just, it wasn't part of my upbringing.
Right. Well, again, Michael Mann right there. Are you like a sports guy? You play a lot of sports, boxing, anything like that? I know. I like watching. I'm kind of stuck in time a little bit with the late 90s, Michael Jordan. So I'm just now only recently, because I'm trying to work less, I've gotten back into going to basketball. But basketball is my sport. Does that make you a Knicks fan or a Pacers fan? It makes me a Nets fan because I'm in Brooklyn. A Nets fan. All right. Yeah.
So basketball is your thing, but you're not like a watch football all day kind of guy or anything like that? No, no, no. No, I wish I did. I mean, sometimes I watch football all day, but not really, no. I mean, I'll watch like Tyson highlights, like my Tyson highlights, but I won't keep up to date with...
Like I miss the Tyson Fury fights and I'm not a full man. I miss Mike Tyson. Remember Mike Tyson was just like, it was just horrific watching what he would do to people. And I could not stop watching. No, no. We haven't had a boxer like that since him, have we? No.
No, I mean what's his name the guy the English guy who's uh, what you just said him Tyson Fury Tyson Fury Yeah, he's been fairly dominant, but not in that same way He this last fight didn't he get knocked down twice two or three? That's all UFC, right? Yeah, it's all UFC I can't you know, I'm sure we'll have some fans who are like, you know, you know grow up But I find you have see to be so dark
The energy is so dark for me. I don't know. There's something about it. It seems real. Did I tell you? I used to watch it right before I go to bed. One time in the middle of the night in my dream, I thought I was in a fight and I threw an elbow at Amanda and I just missed her freaking nose.
I just whacked a pillow that she was sleeping on because I was in a fight in my dream. Because you're watching UFC? Right before I went to bed. It was like the stupidest thing. I was like, I might as well have a big steak too. I'd end up killing somebody. I don't know. Anyway, we digress. We'll be right back. And now, back to the show.
Adam, is there any more talk about more Star Wars stuff? Oh boy, look who's back. They're doing stuff, yeah, but not with me. I'm not doing it. You're done because the character's done. Yeah. All right. And so, and then, but wait, did you...
But would you? But if you did, what character do you think you would invite back? But if they came to you tomorrow and JJ was really nice about it? No, I want to know, can you just give me one good story from filming, like something that was great or went wrong or something that was surprising?
Oh, you know what? You know what I loved? This is what I loved. Okay. When it was at the end of Force Awakens and you're doing the final battle with Rey. It's like he's stuck in an elevator at Comic-Con. And you're fucking... It's a fucking nightmare for you. I just want to say, I'm never going to run into the guy ever again. So, I hope I do. But when you're wounded, when she got you, and you're walking around in a circle, and you start...
banging the side of your hip like this, trying to get the pain away or something because you're bleeding. Whose idea was that? Such a cool, specific actor. I've never seen that. So cool. Thanks. I will actually legitimately say that was mine. The idea that... How it was pitched to me was...
Again, none of these were written, but that the very beginning was that his journey was supposed to be the opposite of Vader's in that he starts almost the most, uh, as opposed to someone who's the most dark from the beginning. And then by the end of the series becomes the most vulnerable that he starts the most vulnerable and becomes little by little, um, more, uh,
committed to the dark side i i feel like eventually they they i think got rid of that idea but in my mind as i was playing it that's what i was working towards so all of this stuff is anytime that um even abstractly that and by the end of the movie it starts anything uh that starts to come into his world that reminds him that he's vulnerable he has to get rid of it you know so yeah yeah i
I think just in an abstract way, it was... Okay, so then when you got wounded and you were bleeding, you were like, I got to get rid of this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's really cool. It wasn't very conscious. I wasn't consciously thinking of it. I think that that's just like... It's so cool. He's trying to snuff out anything. He's getting more and more... So by the time after he kills Han...
you know, hopefully that you see in his face that he shifts into, uh, you know, he's made a choice that he's going to commit to the dark side. Yeah. Yeah. How did you like the pace of that? Uh, you know, it was all, all the effects and, and stunts and things like that. I would imagine because of their, their luxury of, of, of schedule too, that you didn't have to shoot a lot of pages every day.
I just remember working with you that you'd like to keep a nice momentum going. You stay in it and you're ready. How were you able to throttle up and throttle back with the
the slow pace. There's a massive adjustment. Even when this is where I leave you, I hadn't quite figured out where to be economical at all. You know? So I, I, the breaks in between, I'd never like figured out the language of a film set. So I was still figuring it out. So I was wasting just like a lot of energy trying to keep something, uh, like a kind of an engine going that, that was, I made, uh,
Star Wars was way more exhausting for me than I-- I made it more exhausting than it should have been. -I see. Interesting. -'Cause I hadn't quite figured out the momentum of a set that was that big before. All the things I'd worked on were really small and they moved pretty fast. So what did you learn? I love that idea. Yeah, I remember somebody saying-- I remember saying to somebody, like, coming off Arrested Development and then doing a couple movies, I was like, "Fuck, making a movie is so boring."
it and because it was just takes so long and you have all this big time in between and like how do you stay especially making a comedy you're like it's so hard to make a good comedy movie because there's just there's no momentum momentum and you need that to keep it up right like and so what did you do actively to kind of train yourself to to perform in films that was different like what
Did you have something like a technique that you... Yeah, well, usually the director sets the pace of the set. I don't like to be the person that tries to control the pace or rhythm of a set. I kind of let the person that's the, you know, they kind of... And so I have to adjust. Like Spike Lee and Soderbergh shoot really fast. And for me, that's not comfortable. But it's their movie and their film. So I adjust to what it is that they're doing. So things like that, I'll...
I won't go back to the trailer. I'll stay on set mostly. And then if I need to escape...
you know, a conversation, you know, a side conversation, then I will, just to try to stay focused. Like questions about Star Wars or something. Yeah, some fucking Uber nerds. You're trying to get into being Enzo Ferrari and you've got to... One more thing. When they were on planet Voltan, was it true that the Caranthian sun burned their helmets off?
Hey, man. Sean, of all the characters in all the Star Wars universe, what character do you think you would have liked to have played the most? Me? Yeah, you. C-3PO. Luke Skywalker, of course. Yeah. Huh. Luke Skywalker? Yeah, of course.
Well, with a lower octave, maybe. What's that famous line? We want to go... Something about the Tosche Station. We wanted to go back to the Tosche Station or something. Mark Hamill says it really whiny. It's such a funny line. Everybody makes fun of it now, but it was so great. You know what I'm talking about? I wanted to go back into town to pick up some power converters at the Tosche Station. I remember that. That's the first one, right? Yeah, that's the very first one.
Adam, but last, we're done with the Star Wars. But are you so happy to not have to talk about it at length? I know we did a little bit here. But are you like...
Do you try to avoid, like, you know, do you try to focus on moving forward? No, I don't. Honestly, not a lot of people talk to me about it. When they do, they mostly ask me, even what you're asking is different than what most people ask me. And the only thing about it is I would talk at length often about some movie that you're trying to support, and then you say one thing about Star Wars of...
And that becomes the thing there. I'm like, what the fuck was the point of a... Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you miss shooting a series in Brooklyn? I do, I do, I do. Right? Do you really? I bet you'd love that right now. Yeah, well, because I'd be close to home. I didn't realize how...
luxurious that was. Wait, you said this already. Where are you from originally? Indiana. Oh, look who just joined the podcast. He said it. We talked about it a few times. He was in a blackout trying to form a Star Wars question. You know, most people when they talk in the conversation, they don't spend all their time thinking about what I'm going to say when other people are talking. Just listen. That's how a conversation happens. So what's your feeling about... I think it's fascinating when people... Would you ever move to Indiana? Yeah.
You would never live in Los Angeles. It's just not your speed. No. Well, he did. No, yeah, no. It's not my... I enjoy the four seasons. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it, I get it. God, that's been coming up so much lately with us about L.A. and New York, right? JB, we were talking about it the other night in...
I lived in New York for over 20 years and when I left, when my kids were, my older kids were little, I moved to LA and I was like, I don't know if I ever want to move to New York. And now these days, more and more, I'm like, I really want to move back to New York. I've been dying to live here since I was 16. How come? I mean, I would love... Why'd you stay? I...
I would just love to because of the seasons, because of the – there are so many different industries that are centered there. So the people you talk to have something to say about so many things you know nothing about. It's not a company town like L.A. L.A. is such a company town. Right, right. It is boring in that way. We always say that like if all your references are just about this. Hey, what you working on? Yeah.
yeah right that's what i feel when i come here but i didn't think i was like maybe i'm just because every time i come it's for something that is you know related to that so i'm like well i've actually never spent time here so i can't really say that but but it feels that way it feels like with new york there's just so much other shit going on that has nothing to do with it's stimulating yeah you know you see everybody's working doing something that you don't know anything about it's it's very interesting which if you can it's also nice to get out of the city if you can to
Because you can just be sitting in your apartment and feel the energy of the place outside and feel like you need to be doing something, which is also can be exhausting. But no, I love New York. They all always, hopefully. That's how I just put you guys to sleep. I have a question for all three of you, because you all three have kids. When you take your kid to a school for the first time, it's got to be like, I don't want to deal with the...
I have to meet everybody. How are you? And then they are asking to ask you dumb questions. Like I'm asking you Adam dumb questions or whatever. You're going to find yourself trapped by teachers or other parents or whatever. How do you deal with all that? Yeah.
Because you're a known person? Yeah, you're in the public eye. Well, when my son was born, before he was in school, I didn't really go outside with him much because I didn't want people to bother him. And then the one time I went out with him in Italy, we were like, oh, it's the pandemic. Clearly no one's following us. And boom, they got us and people took pictures of my...
But then it was kind of like to a point where I should go outside. I'm missing out on all this shit. Do you get hassled? Do you get hounded a lot by paparazzi and stuff like that? Not paparazzi necessarily, but people. And it's all good. It's fine. But when you're with your kid and you're trying to do something. And then now he's at the age where he's starting to track. Put it together. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So what does it look like for you? I mean, I do want to ask you a little bit about Ferrari because you talked about working with... I can't wait to see it. Working with Michael Mann, obviously, what was that process like for you? Because, I mean, that was...
Pretty all-encompassing, I imagine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was prosthetics that we didn't realize were going to be as involved. We had no money. I mean, we had money, but not a lot of money for how Michael wanted to do it and not a lot of time. So it was very, you know, 17-hour days sometimes, a couple times 20-hour days in Modena.
You know, where everything was happening, where everything happened for Enzo. It's like the barbershop. He went to the same, the grandson of the guy who actually was his barber, the actual factory that, you know,
the place where the crash was. Everything is very meticulous and authentic and incredibly thoroughly researched and, you know, going to the factory and seeing the engines shipping in the actual... Some of the actual cars that won the Mille Miglia, some of these, like, $70 million Ferraris that he would just bring there just to get the sound, you know, and, you know, hook up nine mics to them and, you know, drive it through a tunnel. You know, it's very...
Wow. You kind of get it. I mean, it sounds, you know, but at the same time, he's very researched, but is after something pretty abstract. You know, it's well, he's famously...
uh well researched and very meticulous about clothes and sound and all of the details but but then is is very um good about uh making shit up in the moment well he he i you know you mentioned miami vice i was a huge miami vice fan um you were of the show oh god yeah of the show yeah because i was a i was a young teen when that did you dress like them
Oh, I bet he did. Dude, when he... And DJ... Don Johnson knows this. I've told him he knows this. When he shaved his head that third season or whatever, went to a buzz cut, I did it. That's how into it I was. I thought it was so fucking cool. I'd never seen anything like it. And part of it was, A, Don is great. It was so cool. But the way that Michael Mann understood the making of the film, the balance of...
you know, really cool setups, really cool shots. He, you know, really making the most of it, setting the tone that he was able to set. And with the music, he was the first guy who made like really cool... It was almost like a... A lot of those shows were almost like music videos in the middle that had these incredible montages. And it was just breathtaking to watch him, you know, do all that shit. There's that really famous one where they have...
In the Air It's the Night with Phil Collins, that whole sequence. Yeah, yeah. With the camera set up on the side of the car, you're watching the wheel, and then it's going down the thing, and then it's the reflection off the hood, and then he goes to that phone booth that's miraculously at the end of a pier all by itself. Right, right, right. Calls his ex-wife. Calls his ex-wife, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great shit. And you watch that. I mean, that was like 1984, man. And like...
just elevated shit. Yeah. He's very into rewatching his movies now. He's obsessed with internal life. He really believes in it, that that's cinematic and interesting enough. And then when I watch like Last of the Mohicans or Heat or even Last of the Mohicans in particular, they don't have a lot of screen time to really fall in love. But because they're, you can tell they're so, you know,
internally, you totally buy it. And he's really into that. All of his notes are about internal stuff. He's rare in that way. Not a lot of directors really talk about internal stuff. And that he trusts that the audience can kind of read your mind a little bit. If you're really cooking inside, you don't need to say it. They'll lean forward and try to read you. And is that about staging and the way that he shoots it?
that to him in order to kind of reveal, to get into that inner life? Yeah, yeah. He's all about, all of his choices are about, like, there's this thing where he's obsessed with ties. There's a lot of famous stories about him, like, you know, someone will say an offhanded comment, I'm like, oh, that's a nice tie. And he's like, what'd you say? You know,
And they're like, oh, I was just saying that he had a nice tie. He's like, okay, we got to go find another tie. And they'll spend two hours finding the right tie. And then you ask him, he's like, well, if you're looking at the tie, then you're not looking at the actor's face. And I want you to be engrossed in what's going on. He's like, the blacks in this scene aren't right. They need to be 50% darker because then you can really get into the pupils. It's all about internal life. He wants to see, which I think is, you know, that's what makes those movies interesting.
and timeless. There's a lot of respect that people will get it, you know, which fucking... Yeah. He's also got this... He's also got this... He's got like a...
a Michael Mann three-quarter shot of this, like a handheld that's right behind an actor's ear and it just kind of creeps around a little bit and exposes just one of the eyes and it gets you inside an actor's head or a character's head. He uses that quite a bit. I love that. I don't know if there's a camera invented yet.
that would be able to reveal any inner life on Jason. No. No. I killed it. It's like a fucking dead, like a desert. It's like a dial tone inside. You think of like, you hear like a wind, like wind going through an old outhouse out in the middle of the desert. That's the sound. Yeah. I'd fall asleep real easy, you know. You talked about driving, about Ferraris and stuff, so you got to drive. Had you ever driven a Ferrari before? No. No, no. Never.
No. Do you have one now? No. No. Do you want one now? Would you ever get one? If they gave me one, sure, yeah. Are you like a motorcycle guy at all? Yeah, I have a couple motorcycles, yeah. You do? Of course you do. You've got children now, though, Adam. Yeah, I know, I know, but... Yeah, let's get rid of those. Do you guys know this, that I had a Ferrari for a few years? Is that right? Really? Yeah, I had a Ferrari. Wait, wait, wait, yeah, yeah, yeah. I had that old... Did somebody fucking buy you one?
It's a long story, but they did. But I was gifted a Ferrari. But it was one of those old, you know, a Ferrari, the 412. It kind of looks like a coupe. Do you remember that car? And at the beginning of Rain Man, Tom Cruise is driving that when he's going out to Palm Springs and he gets the phone call and he's got to turn around with the...
with the windmills in behind. It's a beautiful, beautiful car. You wanted to be Don Johnson and Tom Brady. So you went ahead and you sold that Ferrari, the gift, to you, and you turned a little profit, I guess, huh? I ended up selling it because, you know why? Because if you didn't drive it all the time, it would sit there and you would constantly have to, like...
repair shit and uh right that's just the way it was and i what a relatable story so you just pocketed what'd you get about 150 grand for it or something like that no no because i paid i paid so much to keep anyway a lot of taxes adam it's been such a pleasure listen it does seem relatable though no no by the way no you mean wait when does ferrari come out christmas day
Christmas fucking day. Just in time. Okay? Like a gift from Jesus. Yeah, himself. Adam, I could just ask you, man, I'm just fascinated with, I'm such a fan of what you've done, man, and I'm just so happy for you, dude, and you do seem like such a genuinely good guy. Yeah, I love it. And honestly. Big talent crush, like I said. Yeah, big talent. And you know what? Like Jason said, I wanted to say this before, and Jason said, when people run into you,
It's not like you're just like some... There's a difference between being a celebrity and being an actor, and you're such an actor, and I mean that as such a compliment. You're such an artist. I hate using that term, but it's true to you, man. And anyway, I just wanted to say that. Well, that means a lot. Yeah, man.
You are amazing, man. I'm so glad that you joined us today. Thank you for doing this. Yeah, no, thank you for having me. Yeah, thanks, buddy. I'll look you up when I get to Brooklyn. No, he's good, man. He's super busy. You're going to love it. Thanks, Adam. Such a pleasure to meet you. Adam Driver, thanks, buddy. Thanks for taking your time. Thanks for having me. All right. See you. Bye. Wow.
Right? Yeah. JB, I knew you knew him. Yeah, I'm surprised what didn't come up was some sort of tie-in to his last name and the Ferrari movie. Who's going to do that? One of these critics are going to do it, right? Somebody writing a review or something. The driver really drives this driving movie. Something like that? They can go ahead and do that. If they're going to do it, it'll be probably a little bit sharper than that. Probably something like that. Yeah. Well, you know, the whole time, any time you said that word. Something like that. Yep.
He's really cool. It's wild to meet him. It's really cool. He's a very, very good dude. Yeah. Yeah, he seems very sort of like he's got like a generous spirit. Like you said, he's an actor. He's an actor's actor. Oh, yeah, he's an actor. He's...
Yeah, he's so good. Calm. I was excited to have him. He's going to be with us for a long time. He's going to be one of our great actors until we're old and gray. Yeah, for sure. And I just, I don't know, there's something about, I love the fact that, and I know, I don't feel like I did a good job of getting into it of like this, the way that he just kept...
He applied to July 17th, didn't get in, but then he went into the military, but then he came back to it. He went to L.A., and then his car broke down, and he fucking went home, but he came back to it. He was not going to be, this is what he wanted to do, and he knew he had a gift for it. You don't stop until you get it. He's a serious person that also has got a great sense of humor.
Yeah, he's really funny. Really, really funny. I didn't know, first of all, I didn't know he was in the Marine Corps.
And that's why I asked him like, He did like a TED Talk where he talked about it. I saw that. Oh, really? I don't follow all the TED Talks. Yeah, it's really... You're not up in your TED Talk. I'm sure he's not the only actor that's been a Marine, but you don't hear about it a lot. I mean, you know, there's not a lot of... The whole time he was there, that's why I asked him if he was thinking about acting. What's that? Rob Riggle. Rob Riggle. That I knew. Yeah.
But yeah, you don't hear about a lot. So you didn't know he was in the Marines. I didn't know he was in the Marines. And I like what he said about Michael Mann too, about, you know, you always buy into it. And everything that Adam does, I think, every part that he plays, every part that Adam plays, you also buy into it. No, no, no. Will, you got anything? I was going to say, less sloppy and just like easy way out, like as if you're late for a bus thing.
I'm going to say, hearing what he said, those were really words to live by. Acceptable. We will allow. Bye. Smart. Smart. Smartless is 100% organic and artisanally handcrafted by Bennett Barbico, Michael Grant Terry, and Rob Armjarff.
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