Martin Scorsese calls Adam Driver the best actor of his generation
Martin Scorsese knows a thing or two about great performances, probably because he’s been the director of some great performances over the past 50 years. Take your pick; they’re all winners: Jake LaMotta from Raging Bull, Max Cady from Primal Fear, Jimmy ‘the Gent’ from Goodfellas. And that’s just the Robert De Niro roles!
Scorsese knows how to craft incredibly memorable characters and immersive settings like no one else in the world of film. So when he says that someone is on top of their game, it’s probably worth listening to his opinion. Marty might not be all that up on the modern generation, as evidenced by his notorious superhero movie takes. However, he’s still an active director working with a fresh array of young actors.
So who is the thespian that commands the most respect from Scorsese? That would be none other than Kylo Ren himself, Adam Driver. Scorsese probably doesn’t have much to say about Driver’s Star Wars appearances, but he did direct the American actor in his film Silence back in 2016. That film contained some incredible talent, including fellow young gun Andrew Garfield, but when Scorsese crashed Driver’s panel at the Telluride Film Festival back in 2019, it was all praise for Driver.
“I can’t tell you the perseverance and the beauty of the performance and the experience I had with him,” Scorsese articulated during the interaction. “He has marvellous screen presence. One of the best, if not the best, actors of his generation.”
Evidently, Scorsese wasn’t the only one honing in on Driver’s talent at the time. In the half-decade after Silence’s release, Driver collaborated with the likes of Noah Baumbach, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, Terry Gilliam, and Ridley Scott, all while maintaining his Star Wars commitments. It takes more than co-signs to be a great actor, but when your co-signs are as big as this, it’s hard not to take notice.
Check out Scorsese’s tribute to Driver down below.
