Adam Driver is not the usual actor. After 9/11, he enlisted in the Marines and served for two years, and his breakout role was in an indie TV series on HBO, and yet he’s now one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. The actor has created a career, step by step, getting supporting roles in interesting films, followed by leads, and has worked with some incredible directors, like Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Noah Baumbach, Spike Lee, and Ridley Scott.
The actor gives his all to every character he plays, even if that means looking bad, and is adept at both drama and comedy, creating an eclectic career that keeps getting better and better. He’ll be Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s Ferrari, and next year, audiences will be able to see him in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic, Megalopolis. For now, here are Adam Driver’s 10 best performances, ranked
10 Frances Ha (2013)
Frances Ha is the lead character of the film, directed by Noah Baumbach, and played by Greta Gerwig. She’s a dancer who is still trying to find her place in the world now that her college tenure has ended, her career isn’t developing as quickly as she wants, and her best friend is going to live with her boyfriend.
One of Adam Driver’s First Movie Roles
The movie explores the quarter-life crisis and was the first collaboration between Driver and Baumbach (they’ve worked together four times). Here, he plays a supporting character, Lev, a man who starts as a possible romantic interest for Frances but ends up being one of her roommates. Driver’s character is one of the funniest, yet also clueless in the movie, as he has rich parents who give him money and doesn’t understand that Frances doesn’t have that support system. This was one of Driver’s first roles after being discovered in Girls, and he creates a full character that might be too self-centered to understand what’s going on around him, yet he’s still funny and interesting in every scene he appears in.
9 The Last Duel (2021)
The Last Duel is a film with three perspectives on the same act; a sexual assault, and how each character believed it happened. Those characters are Marguerite (Jodie Comer), her husband, Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), and Jacques LeGris (Driver), the man who assaulted her.
An Unsettling Performance from Driver
This might be the scariest performance Driver has ever given, as his LeGris has no remorse at all for what he did to Marguerite, and believes he deserves whatever he wants, and will take it, even by force. This is a villain, who has gotten everything he’s ever wanted and doesn’t understand what “No” means. The actor’s physique works as an intimidating tactic here, and Driver relishes showing how much of a bad person his character is, making every member of the audience hate him.
8 Hungry Hearts (2014)
Hungry Hearts
- Release Date
- January 15, 2015
- Director
- Saverio Costanzo
- Cast
- Adam Driver , Alba Rohrwacher , Roberta Maxwell , Al Roffe , Geisha Otero , Jason Selvig
- Runtime
- 118
Hungry Hearts is all about Mina (Alba Rohrwacher) and Jude (Driver), a couple in love who have a kid. The problems start when Mina suffers severe postpartum depression, and starts controlling everything that their child does and eats, sometimes to the detriment of the newborn.
An Award-Winning Performance
This is a devastating film with no winners, and both actors are great in it. Driver sells his character arc, from smitten and in love, to distressed and worried about his child and the women he used to love, and he does so through how he says every word, every look, and every gesture, making for a great dramatic performance. The film earned both actors the Coppa Volpi for the best performances in the 71st Venice International Film Festival.
7 Star Wars: Episodes VII-IX (2015 – 2019)
The Star Wars universe had a new trilogy during the 2010s, one where Adam Driver played one of the most important characters; Ben Solo/Kylo Ren. This is the story of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac), as they try to avoid the Empire coming back, led by Kylo Ren.
Driver Is One of the Best Parts of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Driver was a big part of the latest trilogy, including The Last Jedi, the best film in the sequels, as his Kylo Ren might be the most unique character in the whole universe. Ren is a petulant, aggressive man-child who doesn’t know if he wants to be part of the light or dark side, and enjoys being better at everything than his enemies. In a world that’s usually pretty black and white, Driver creates a grey character, full of indecision, and someone very ambitious and addicted to power, who might know he should be doing some good things, but prefers to be a bad boy, at least for a while.
6 Silence (2016)
Silence
- Release Date
- December 22, 2016
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Runtime
- 195
Martin Scorsese’s Silence is the tale of two 17th-century priests, Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Driver), who go from Portugal to Japan to try to discover what has happened to their mentor, Ferreira (Liam Neeson).
One of Driver’s Best Supporting Roles
Driver went full method-acting for this role, losing 50 pounds and spending weeks with a Jesuit priest to understand all the suffering and misery his character should’ve felt, and it was worth it, as the actor is mesmerizing as Garupe. He spends most of the movie with Garfield, and although the characters never seem to agree, they both know why all this suffering is necessary, and are always looking to improve the lives of those around them. Although Garfield has more scenes and is the lead, the movie wouldn’t work without Driver’s work, as he steals every moment he’s in the film.
5 Logan Lucky (2017)
Logan Lucky tells the story of the Logan family, two brothers, Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde (Driver), and their sister, Mellie (Riley Keough), as they decide to steal the money from a NASCAR event, getting a crew that includes Joe Bang (a deranged performance by Daniel Craig, who is having the time of his life) to help with the heist.
A Hilarious Performance
The Steven Soderbergh-directed film has all the great things of other heist films he’s directed, without the glamour, as this crew of robbers is much less suave and effortless than Danny Ocean’s. Driver is a great comedian, and here, he becomes the master of deadpan humor, as his Clyde might be the least fortunate character ever, and yet, he still believes he can change things for his family. The whole cast is great, and Driver is fully believable as this character in this place, one that might be the strangest he’s ever played.
4 BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman is a satire, but based on some real events, as it tells the story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), a Black police officer who infiltrates the KKK chapter of his town by talking with them via phone. Once he’s invited to join in person, he asks for the help of his partner, Flip Zimmerman (Driver), a white, Jewish police officer, who will go undercover as the character Stallworth has created over the phone.
A Talented Duality to His Role
Driver’s Zimmerman is a nice guy, so the contrast between the character and the version he must play when he’s infiltrating the white supremacists already gives the actor a lot to play with, and he nails that dichotomy, as you can see Zimmerman’s discomfort with everything he must say and do to belong to this disgusting group. Driver nails that duality and also has incredible chemistry with Washington, so much so, that we’re still waiting for a buddy cop movie with these two. Driver earned his first Oscar nomination ever thanks to this role.
3 Marriage Story (2019)
Marriage Story is all about the end of a marriage and a divorce, between Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Driver), and the custody battle for their son Henry. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach from some of his own experiences when he got divorced from actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, this is a raw, sometimes difficult portrait of a family falling apart and how divorce lawyers seem evil.
Driver’s Most Emotional Performance
This anti-romance movie works because of the incredible performances by both Johansson and Driver, as they move between trying to be good with each other, while also hurting each other, and saying horrible things to one another. Driver’s Charlie is both a good dad trying to do the right thing, but also an egocentric theater director, and too charming for his own good, and the actor sells every side of that character. He also has a scary scene where he’s furious, and has some unique, comedic moments, as he tries to show that he’s okay with everything that is happening when it couldn’t be further from the truth. The actor never minded looking bad if it fit a character, and this film is proof of how great he can be when he does so. Critics thought the same, as he was nominated for an Academy Award, his second, but first, as a leading actor.
2 Girls (2012 – 2017)
Girls
- Release Date
- April 15, 2012
- Seasons
- 6
Girls was Lena Dunham’s creation through and through, as she created, directed, wrote, and starred in the show about a 20-something woman trying to get by, and her group of girlfriends. Driver played Adam, who started the show as Hannah’s (Dunham) boyfriend, with whom she didn’t have the healthiest of relationships.
Adam Driver’s Breakout Role
This was Driver’s breakout role, as his character wasn’t the best guy ever, but the actor was able to show the character’s many sides and made him evolve during the show’s five seasons. The character was very complicated, had many faults of his own, and yet, through Driver’s charisma and incredible commitment to him, he became a fan favorite. Since the show’s ending, the whole cast has kept working, but Driver has been the only one to become a megastar, and an Academy Award-nominated actor, showing his continuous ascent that wouldn’t have been possible without this role, for which he received three Emmy nominations.
1 Paterson (2016)
Paterson
- Release Date
- November 17, 2016
- Runtime
- 113
Paterson is both the place in New Jersey and the name of this story’s protagonist, a bus driver and poet, who spends his days driving, writing, hanging out with his wife and dog, and not much else. Even then, this film has a lot to offer, as it is simple, yet profound, quiet yet revealing, and small, yet full of big themes.
Why Paterson is Driver’s Best Performance
This Jim Jarmusch film has Driver’s best role, as the actor who started being known for being loud and explosive goes the absolute contrarian way here, as his Paterson is quiet and sensible, with a great interior life, who just wants to spend time with his loved ones. He’s a poet, but he’s not a tortured one who believes the world is missing out, and the actor conveys all those feelings perfectly, as he discovers the wonder and sadness of the world around him.
