Adam Driver is opening up about his career and how he has not been strategic in booking his role and instead going by instinct to work with great filmmakers.
The actor made an appearance on the SmartLess podcast, which is hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, where the topic of playing Italian men in two movies back to back came up. Driver plays the role of Maurizio Gucci in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci and Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s Ferrari.
Ahead of the press tour for Ferrari, Driver was warned that he would be inevitably asked about playing Italians successively.
“So many people have been like, ‘How many Italians… ?’ I’m like, it’s just kind of worked out that way,” Driver said. “But I’m like, you know, it’s Ridley and it’s Michael and they’re in my mind some of the best filmmakers. Who gives a s**t that it was two Italians back to back?”
Driver cited booking roles interpreting Italian men as “a good example of not being strategic in a way that I probably should” in his career.
The actor said that he’s probably done playing Italians, adding, “I’m surprised how much it comes up. It’s like, ‘You have a thing,’ and I’m like, ‘It’s two! It’s two Italians!’ It’s just two. The press isn’t a place where you have a nuanced conversation.”
He continued, “That seems like a hard idea. Like, ‘What is it with Italy?’ I mean, it’s less to do with Italy, although I like it. It’s more about Ridley Scott and Michael Mann and the projects themselves. Italy is not the first thing on my mind.”
Driver had previously gone viral for his response to a reporter that noted the Ferrari crash scenes were “cheesy.”
“F**k you, I don’t know. Next question,” Driver told the reporter during a Q&A.