Top 10 Adam Driver Pop Culture Moments

Script Written by Spencer Sher

Top10 Adam Driver Pop Culture Moments

This Oscar nominee is so good, it drives us crazy. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Adam Driver Pop Culture Moments.

For this list, we’re looking at memorable moments from Adam Driver’s career outside of film and TV, with the exception of his “Saturday Night Live” appearances - those are fair game. Let’s get to it.

#10: Del Taco Shoot

“Saturday Night Live” (1975-)
Few shows enable celebs to flex their comedic muscles quite like “SNL”. Adam Driver has hosted the program on three separate occasions, with the most recent one coming in January of 2020. One of that episode’s best sketches was “Del Taco Shoot”, which saw Driver playing Del Taco’s VP of branding. Rocking a mullet and full of ideas for how the commercial shoot should go, it isn’t long before Driver’s character is on his feet, lambasting one of the actors for his perceived inability to deliver a seemingly inconsequential line. Driver holds nothing back, diving headfirst into the absurdity of the sketch, and proving that he’s one actor who doesn’t mind acting like a fool to get a laugh.

#9: Monologues to the Military

Prior to becoming an actor, Adam Driver spent nearly three years in the United States Marine Corps. Shortly after being medically discharged in the mid 2000s, Driver and his future wife, Joanna Tucker, founded Arts in the Armed Forces. The non-profit organization seeks to “introduce the military to the theater community and vice versa.” In 2015, Vice News did a profile on the organization, with a specific focus on Driver’s involvement within it. The video, titled “Adam Driver Brings Monologues to the Military: Arts in the Armed Forces”, saw Driver and a group of actors travelling to the Middle East to show active military personnel that “language is a powerful tool, that self-expression is a powerful tool” and that “it’s just as valuable as any rifle you carry.”

#8: His “Screen Tests” Interview with W Magazine

Whereas most interviews barely scratch the surface of an actor’s life, once in a while they manage to reveal a sliver of who the subject truly is behind the mask. In a sit down with W Magazine, Adam delved deep into his love for his dog “Moose”, the excitement he felt getting to work with director Jim Jarmusch, and his continued hatred for all things Halloween. During an expletive laden tirade directed at the latter, Driver reveals – in hilarious fashion - how his wife took him to buy a dog on Halloween one year…with mixed results. Throughout the interview, Driver is equal parts funny and charming, a true reflection of his shining personality.

#7: “Actors on Actors” with Charlize Theron

As part of their ongoing series of celebrity on celebrity interviews, Variety had Adam Driver sit down with Charlize Theron in the fall of 2019. Seeing as how the interview took place in the lead up to that year’s awards season, as well as the fact that both were up for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, it was a natural fit. The two discuss what drew them to their roles in “Marriage Story” and “Bombshell”, as well as their experiences working with two wildly different directors in Noah Baumbach and Jay Roach. These types of interviews can occasionally feel stilted, even awkward, but Driver and Theron’s conversation remains a stimulating watch throughout.

#6: Describing His Comic-Con Experience

If Adam Driver is to be taken at his word regarding Comic-Con, we never want to go. Okay, his experience might differ slightly from our own seeing as how he’s Kylo-freakin-Ren, but come on: listen to him talk about not being able to get a cup of coffee without first putting on an Iron Man mask on this late-night talk show. His crazy experience only got worse from there, as when he opened his window he was met with the sounds of the Star Wars theme song…being played on a set of bagpipes. It seems that every time Driver pays Seth Meyers a visit, he has some cringeworthy story to tell, as just a few years later he regaled him with the tale of his Juilliard audition, in which he sang, of all things, happy birthday.

#5: His “Good Morning America” Interview

Adam Driver swung by the set of “Good Morning America” during their “Star Wars” week, in the lead up to the hotly anticipated release of 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. Driver discussed his role as the universe’s newest bad guy, Kylo Ren, as anchor Lara Spencer probed him for plot details. While Driver kept his lips sealed regarding the story, he did spill the beans on co-stars Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford and told a funny anecdote about how Chewbacca made everyone on set extremely emotional. The best part? Watching Driver dodge a question about who he shared scenes with, with the line: “I’m wearing a helmet. It really could have been anybody.”

#4: Acting Out “Star Wars” with Stephen Colbert

While making the promotional rounds for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” Adam Driver paid a visit to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, where he and the titular host engaged in a little…re-enactment. While it’s commonplace for an actor to show a clip from their upcoming film, Star Wars ain’t your average Hollywood franchise, so Driver arrived empty handed. Lucky for him (and us), Colbert was prepared. The late-night host busted out some Star Wars action figures and after a little prodding, convinced Driver to play along. Let’s just say the result wasn’t exactly Shakespeare, but it did draw some big laughs from the audience. Uh, can we get a feature length film of these two playing make-believe?

#3: His TED Talk

In his mid-2010s TED Talk, Adam Driver told the frank, funny and at times though-provoking story of his life. Beginning with his humble beginnings in the small town of Mishawaka, Indiana, to his decision to join the Marine Corps following the September 11th terrorist attacks, Driver’s story will capture your attention regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of his acting. The Academy Award nominee appears right at home up on that stage, showing off his storytelling and orating skills to great effect. Driver is eloquent in his delivery and paints a vivid picture of his life; so much so that when he finishes his story, you’ll be on the edge of your seat, clamoring for more.

#2: “Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base”

“Saturday Night Live” (1975-)
Let’s be honest, not every “SNL” sketch hits the mark. However, every once in a while they catch lightning in a bottle and produce a sketch so funny it instantly goes viral. Such was the case for this “Star Wars” episode of “Undercover Boss: Starkiller Base”. The sketch sees Kylo Ren going undercover as Matt, a radar technician - following him as he interacts with his various underlings. He endures beratement from Leslie Jones while attempting to fix a technical issue on the base, before getting bullied by a passing stormtrooper. Things start to unravel for “Matt” when he “finds” Kylo Ren’s lightsaber and shows it off to his colleagues; and later uses his force powers to suffocate a rude stormtrooper. Driver was all in from the start and it shows.

Before we unveil or number one pick, here are some honorable mentions:

Aladdin
“Saturday Night Live” (1975-)

Meeting His “Man Crush”

His “Nightline” Interview

“America’s Funniest Cats”
“Saturday Night Live” (1975-)

His Vanity Fair Interview at TIFF 2014

#1: “Career Day”

“Saturday Night Live” (1975-)
Speaking of lightning in a bottle… “Career Day” sees Adam playing Abraham H. Parnassus, a ruthless oil baron who visits his son’s high school on career day. Unlike the previous parents, Parnassus isn’t there to make his kid look cool, he’s there to berate his son for his shortcomings and extol the virtues of his obscure trade. In delivering one of the season’s best performances, Driver proves that he’s a consummate professional regardless of the circumstances. His take on the curmudgeonly oil baron is side-splittingly funny, so much so that it causes Pete Davidson to break character less than a minute in. “Saturday Night Live”, we’ll take an Abraham H. Parnassus film whenever you get the chance. No rush. We’ll wait.