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This is the biggest talent show

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1:00

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From 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New

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York City. Please enjoy this podcast edition of Late

1:31

Night with Seth Meyers featuring Seth's conversations with

1:34

guests recorded at an earlier date. On

1:36

today's episode, Seth chats with actor Adam

1:38

Driver. Now here's Seth. Our

1:46

guest tonight is an Oscar, Emmy, and

1:48

Tony

1:48

nominated actor you know from films such as Marriage

1:50

Story, House of Gucci, and the Star Wars franchise.

1:53

He stars in 65 which is in theaters Friday, March 10th. Please

1:57

welcome back to the show, our friend Adam Driver.

1:59

Everybody. Welcome back. Thank

2:02

you. Very, very happy to have you here. Thanks

2:04

for having me. This

2:08

is one

2:08

of those really

2:11

fun, for all ages, blockbusters. I

2:18

would recommend people see it in the theater. Do

2:20

you remember the first time you saw

2:22

one of these movies with your family where

2:24

you got to be a kid and go out and see one

2:26

of these really fun things on a big screen? Yeah,

2:29

mine was, I think Star Trek

2:31

was the first movie. The one where they go to the

2:33

planet and they think it's a god. Oh, I

2:35

don't remember. I'm glad

2:37

you kept going because I'm like, I think

2:38

they go to a planet and all of them. I

2:42

think William Shatner directed it. I think it was like

2:44

Leonard Nimoy did the one with the whales. Yeah,

2:47

you're right. Nimoy was the whales. And then after that, I think

2:49

he directed the one where you go and they

2:51

think it's god and it turns out to be a false prophet. Okay,

2:54

gotcha. But I watched it. This seems like very

2:56

complicated for your first one. That was my

2:58

first one. I think I'm getting the dates right, but

3:01

that I remember being the first one I saw on the theater. And

3:04

do you remember enjoying it? Yeah, I had a great time. I

3:06

watched the show The Next Generation with

3:08

my

3:08

dad. Oh, that's great. So

3:11

I was expecting it to be that. Then I knew the William Shatner

3:14

show because they did the, or the older one,

3:16

the originals. So I was expecting

3:18

it to be that, but it wasn't that at all. So I scared the ****

3:21

out of it.

3:21

No, I'm worried because like, you

3:23

know, this film, my

3:26

oldest is almost seven. I

3:28

feel like I've done a bad job. We haven't shown them enough

3:30

movies yet. And so they get, they scare

3:32

very easily because I don't think they understand the

3:34

stakes. We were showing them the first Paddington

3:37

and there's a moment where Paddington

3:40

has, I hope I'm not ruining. No, I remember.

3:42

There's a scene where Paddington

3:44

has, they like kick him out of the house and my oldest

3:47

was like overcome with grief. And

3:49

I realized, oh, we haven't taught him that like Paddington's,

3:51

I was like, Paddington's going to be fine. Oh yeah.

3:53

Yeah. Yeah.

3:56

I mean, is this a film? Have you seen kids

3:58

see this new film yet? No. I

4:01

invited kids from my building to the premiere

4:04

part of the Ooh. Oh. Oh.

4:08

You charged them for tickets. Then

4:11

I harassed them the whole time. They didn't like

4:13

it. And they had a great time. That's

4:16

great. My dad actually recorded.

4:19

He showed me, this is a non-sequitur, but he showed

4:21

me an old yeller when I was really young. An old yeller

4:23

gets shot. Yeah. But then

4:25

they get another dog. Yeah. He would

4:27

record a tape on the VHS and

4:30

put the tab over the thing, but give it to

4:32

friends of ours, but cut the movie. That's

4:34

nice. When he shoots the dog and

4:37

then give it to people. So you never saw that one go. I remember being

4:39

very upset the first time I saw old

4:41

yeller and taking it out on my parents. You're not.

4:44

Yeah. And I remember

4:46

my dad was making the point. But the story is about that, one, you

4:48

can replace a dog and

4:51

you move on. And I was like, yeah, but they

4:53

didn't have to shoot it. There's

4:56

another version where the dog just gets old. Right,

4:58

right, right. They didn't have to go so hard with the

5:00

rabies. Because they get rabies. They went

5:02

hard at rabies. It

5:05

was a trope at the time. Rabies

5:07

was, remember simpler times? When you were

5:09

a kid, you were just worried about rabies. Actually,

5:12

in this movie, we have a quicksand sequence,

5:15

which I remember when I watched that. Maybe I shouldn't say,

5:17

but when I was a kid,

5:19

there was quicksand everywhere. Quicksand was very popular.

5:22

Yeah, no, I think you're right. So much to the point

5:24

that I was worried that I had to worry about quicksand

5:26

when I got over it. And I'm guessing you didn't grow

5:28

up in a place with a lot of quicksand.

5:30

No, no, no, Indiana. I

5:34

think they are almost at zero deaths a year from quicksand.

5:38

Was that, when you shoot a quicksand

5:40

scene, is it, I mean, obviously it's not practical

5:42

quicksand, but I'm assuming you can't CGI quicksand.

5:45

You've got to be in something. Yeah, they put like a bunch

5:47

of cork particles. So that's what they feel. Oh,

5:49

interesting. But it's very nice. It's like

5:51

very heated. So you're saying this might

5:53

be, 10 years from now, a spa treatment?

5:56

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like the quicksand

5:58

close to death.

5:59

Spa treatment. I did

6:02

a quicksand rinse. And I

6:04

look and feel great. My hair's

6:06

different. You

6:08

know, Jurassic Park, was that a movie you saw? Oh,

6:11

yeah, Jurassic Park was a big one. That's fun.

6:13

And I think, like, dinosaurs in general. Because it's like,

6:15

you mentioned you watched Star Trek before you went and

6:17

saw Star Trek, the TV show. I think

6:19

the nice thing for kids is, like, they all...

6:22

You don't have to introduce dinosaurs to them.

6:24

They just know dinosaurs. It's so funny how much my kids

6:26

will just come home and tell me about a new dinosaur. And I remember the

6:28

same thing. And I'm like, when does...

6:29

Like, at some point, just other kids on the playground

6:32

are like, eh. Right, right. I

6:34

want to feel... There's a lot of different dinosaurs.

6:37

That actually was going on during the... I got this during the first part

6:39

of the pandemic when

6:42

everyone was isolated. Yeah.

6:44

And so I was with my family all the time, and my son was just

6:46

telling me everything about every

6:49

dinosaur that... I knew the basics,

6:51

T-Rex and everything that was in Jurassic Park. But apart

6:53

from that... So when I got this,

6:55

and obviously the themes are obvious

6:58

in relationship to COVID, that everyone's kind of facing this

7:00

thing that they don't know. It's this invisible kind of thing. But

7:04

it was also big. It was like dinosaurs and

7:06

laser guns, and he's into dinosaurs. I'm like, I'm

7:08

in. Yeah. And then

7:10

we went, and he kind of knew everything. The

7:13

guy was introducing, like, oh, this

7:14

is going to be... It might be a little scary. Like, don't be scared.

7:17

He's like, no, it's like... Gallimimus,

7:19

you know, Neo-Raptor. He

7:22

was naming everything that... He was really into it, but he

7:24

doesn't want to see the movie because he's going

7:27

to be... he's too scary. So I basically made

7:29

this thing for him to watch, so

7:31

he has no interest in watching. Is

7:33

any part of you worried that the I'm too scared

7:36

is just like a cover for the fact

7:38

that he's just not a huge fan of yours as an actor? Yeah,

7:40

yeah, yeah. Yeah. I

7:42

tell him, like, what is that? I'm like, oh, we're going

7:44

to do movies sometimes. Like, oh, that's cool. I hate

7:46

movies. He hates movies.

7:49

All of his friends watch. So is it just... Did

7:51

you just get anxiety, being in a big room? That's what he said. He hates them.

7:55

I finally showed him Mary Poppins as their

7:57

first movie. He's like, yeah, it's okay.

7:59

And you're like, do you want to watch anything

8:02

else? He's like, no, I'm not interested. We

8:04

also showed our kids Mary Poppins during,

8:07

can I make? This is the original one. Yeah,

8:09

the original for me. Can I make an unpopular opinion? Yeah,

8:12

yeah. Could have used a cut, right? Yeah, yeah,

8:14

yeah. Mary Poppins is a little bit, there's

8:16

stuff you don't remember from Mary Poppins. It's

8:19

pretty wild, Mary Poppins. It's pretty wild.

8:21

The whole sequence of the guys laughing, he goes up to

8:23

the top of the thing. It's terrifying for

8:26

kids. I think it's very anti-laughter.

8:29

All right, I've got some more questions. We'll be right

8:32

back with more from

8:35

Adam

8:46

from

8:55

the show.

9:05

New beginnings are in season on the Max

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you get your podcasts.

10:00

That was a clip from 65. This

10:04

film takes place 65 million years in the past. Yes.

10:08

Where do you shoot a movie like that? Like,

10:10

where are we living now that Best looks

10:12

like that? Oddly Louisiana. Okay, good. That's

10:15

no comment on Louisiana. Right, right. No, it's like... It's

10:17

a very robust film. Yeah, yeah,

10:19

not the red light district or the French Quarter.

10:22

The French Quarter. Yeah, Oddly the French Quarter in New

10:24

Orleans. No,

10:26

it's like in the swamps out near

10:28

New Orleans. That's what they... Or

10:31

at least I was told by somebody that it was the

10:33

closest thing to prehistoric Earth. And then we went

10:35

to Oregon. Okay. Yeah,

10:38

to shoot the big trees, the

10:40

redwoods. Oh, very good. So if

10:42

you ultimately... If you can combine Louisiana

10:44

and Oregon, you basically have 65 million years ago. Yeah,

10:46

yeah, yeah. Or I guess the redwoods are more

10:48

north... Eh, somewhere in Oregon. I can't remember where.

10:51

Actually, I should remember where we were. We were there

10:53

for a long time. But yes, the combination of those

10:55

things... But you were so deep in character. Like, it wasn't

10:57

Oregon, did you? Exactly. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I

11:00

was 65 million years ago. Okay,

11:03

how many possibly

11:03

remember something that happened that long ago? Right, right, right.

11:06

You also... We were just talking during

11:08

the break that you got to work with two directors

11:11

who not... I was gonna say I love, but

11:13

I think everybody loves, Michael Mann. Yeah. And

11:16

Francis Ford Coppola. Yeah. When

11:18

you

11:18

go in... Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do

11:21

you go into things like that? Do you... differently?

11:24

Are you thinking... Or do you try to get yourself out of

11:26

your head and know it's like the same kind of work you want to

11:28

do on every movie, even when you're working with legends?

11:31

I think it's a bit of both. They are also people

11:33

who are so disarming. You don't really...

11:36

The legend of them or what

11:39

you relate to them in their movies and how...

11:41

You know, how much their

11:43

films have meant to you or you replay moments.

11:45

It kind of goes away really quickly because

11:48

they're just... They're people who are

11:50

just... So you pretty... You find a rhythm,

11:52

I think, easily. Most... with

11:54

directors like that who are really good, they

11:56

are really disarming because they want the best

11:59

out of what it is.

11:59

that you give them. Right, I think they would, yeah, they would

12:02

obviously know from their long careers

12:04

that if you walk around like a legend, they're not gonna

12:06

get the best work out of people. Yeah, drop your movies on

12:08

the floor. No, they want the best

12:10

out of you, so

12:13

there really can't be a distance between you

12:15

and them. And they bring so

12:18

much of themselves to a set, and you, I

12:21

think, have to do the same.

12:22

You, I know you put a lot of work, you

12:24

know, before you start a movie, and then the work

12:26

you put into a movie while you're filming it, but I've also heard

12:29

that as soon as it's over, you like to move

12:31

on. I mean, I will say

12:33

I'm not doing the same kind of work here, but we do

12:35

the same thing, right? I never, like, I'm gonna go watch Monday's

12:38

show. It's like you move in the future. Is

12:40

that why do you just feel like it's important because

12:42

you don't want the previous work to get in the way or

12:45

to clutter the next? Maybe

12:47

that, but it's also the, I can't

12:50

control it. It's not my movie that I'm directing

12:52

and acting as so much a service industry,

12:54

so you go in and you do as much as you possibly

12:56

can with what the time and

12:58

budget and the director, you know, and all of the

13:01

elements kind of allow, and then I

13:03

try to, it's like a protective mechanism, just move

13:05

on to the next thing and try not to think about it, because I

13:07

can't control it, and I don't want to get involved in trying

13:09

to tell

13:10

someone else about what their movie should be. If

13:13

there's an inherent trust with them,

13:15

where you, like, this is your film, you know, I'm

13:18

fulfilling one role of it, and whatever, you want to make

13:20

it, that's up to you, then I kind

13:23

of don't want to get involved, you know, emotionally

13:25

with, why'd you pick that take? It's a very zen

13:27

thing. Did you find that from the beginning, that idea

13:29

of just letting go when you're done, or did you have to find

13:31

your way to it? I, a bit of

13:33

both. I did a lot of theater beforehand where you

13:36

can't take it with you, obviously, every night, and it only

13:38

exists how you felt about it when you

13:40

did it, and to

13:40

me, that was enough of a

13:44

good yardstick when we're shooting to know if it's going

13:46

well. I'm like, okay, I know what it feels like internally.

13:49

I shouldn't worry about what it looks like externally. But

13:51

then I saw some of the things that

13:53

I did, and I hated them. And

13:56

you wind up putting not only yourself through this kind

13:58

of really boring, like...

13:59

over a pretentious

14:02

kind of thing of asking, you know, of asking

14:04

everybody else around it. And then you

14:07

kind of got to watch it four times to

14:09

divorce that it's you who's doing it, you know,

14:11

that to really, okay, I remember what

14:13

we were doing, why I made that choice. So it's like, it's just

14:16

exhausting. I try to just like do

14:18

everyone around me a favor by letting it go as much

14:21

as possible. It's very selfless. Yeah, well. You,

14:24

this is obviously, this movie feels very

14:26

unique to the work you've done up to this point.

14:29

Is that sort of what you're looking for? Is there something

14:31

out there? Because again, I feel like you've had a

14:34

lot of diversity in the sort of things you've done. Is there something left

14:36

that you really want to do, the kind of movie or kind

14:38

of role?

14:39

Yeah,

14:42

anything that's different always

14:45

interests me. And the people that are making

14:47

it is a big part of it. Big budgets

14:50

are small, but I know it's like a very like cliche

14:52

answer, but then

14:54

when older you get, I feel like, then you kind of want

14:56

to be home more and what things that

14:59

are interesting you before, don't

15:01

really interesting you now. So I just want

15:03

to be home and not, this

15:06

is where this answer is going. That's not what I mean to say.

15:09

I don't

15:09

want to work. Your agent's going to be like, Adam,

15:11

baby, what are you doing? Well,

15:15

I will tell you that I. Anything, like

15:17

anything that's going to expect it to be. Not to hit

15:20

you, trying to dig my way out of this. Something

15:23

that's funny, you know, do the opposite. I'll

15:25

play the comments in the movie next. That

15:29

chases the dinosaur. Help

15:31

me out of this answer. Well, I'm just going to say that

15:33

I, you know, there are certain actors that

15:35

when they choose a role, I have confidence that, you

15:38

know, it's the right thing. And you've

15:39

always been someone for that. I'm always excited to see what you

15:41

choose. Very nice. Thanks for having me, man. I'm

15:44

having such a pleasure. Adam Driver, 65.

15:53

Late night with Seth Meyers, airs weeknights on NBC

15:55

at 1235, 1135 Central. Original

15:58

music on the Late Night Podcast is by.

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The HE Band. Don't forget to follow the

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