Cannes: Adam Driver Talks ‘Star Wars,’ Learning How to Drive a Bus for ‘Paterson’

For Adam Driver, transitioning from starring in a major blockbuster (Star Wars) to a quiet indie (Paterson) wasn’t difficult.

During a sit-down with The Hollywood Reporter at the Cannes Film Festival, the actor, who played villain Kylo Ren in The Force Awakens, explained that he approached his roles in both films in a similar way.

“I think because the script is so clear and the characters were so clear, even though the tone of them are very different. … The process of working on them seems the same,” he said. “The transition doesn’t seem as abrupt.”

Driver stars in Jim Jarmusch’s drama about the day-to-day life of a New Jersey bus driver and poet, which has emerged as a Palme d’Or contender at Cannes.

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On his character, Paterson, Driver shared, “He has a very structured life. He’s very much a creature of habit and has a set routine, but it kind of allows him to drift. I think what Jim was after was kind of an antidote to the movies that seem very fast-paced and urgent — doing something bold and having a character that thinks that the power of thought is cinematic enough.”

The Star Wars star revealed that he attended a training course in Queens to learn how to drive a bus in preparation for the role.

“[In New York] driving a car is frustrating enough, but driving a f—ing bus was kind of a nightmare,” he told THR of shooting the film’s driving scenes. “I feel like in acting, you have no control, so having something physical to do to kind of give you the illusion that you actually have control over what’s happening is helpful.”