Actor Adam Driver participated in a special SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations event on October 27, 2026, to discuss his work in James Gray‘s crime thriller “Paper Tiger,” which hits theaters next month. During the conversation, the actor opened up about his acting process and what he learned while making Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project “Megalopolis.”
Adam Driver Praises Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Theatrical’ Approach
While promoting his new movie, “Paper Tiger,” the “House of Gucci” actor participated in a special SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations event to discuss his latest film and past projects. He had especially kind words for Francis Ford Coppola and his “theatrical” approach to filmmaking.
“With Megalopolis, with Francis, his process is so theatrical, and at that point in my life, that set was so awesome,” the “65” actor explained in footage from the event posted on Reddit. “I mean, he was a theater director before he made films, and it feels, in Megalopolis, I’m like, ‘I’m never going to get an opportunity like this to make a $130 million experimental film.’
Adam Driver Felt ‘No One Could Make A Mistake’ On Set
He went on to praise the freedom that Coppola gave his actors on set.
“I felt like I was trying to control it too much, or trying to—what’s the best way to say it? I think I’m very good at trying to shock myself out of a right answer on a film set, but with Megalopolis, there was this feeling that anyone could show up, no one could make a mistake, and there was nothing wrong,” Driver continued.
“There’s not a thing that you could do that would be outside the world of this movie,” he added. “I’m like, ‘Oh, this is a really great feeling.’”
Embracing The ‘Potential Disaster’ Of Theater
The Juilliard alum explained that embracing the “potential disaster” of theater helped to create a more collaborative set while working on “Megalopolis.” In his words:
“And I feel this a lot in theater because the script is so well written, there’s many different ways to do it, and I love the potential disaster of it all, that it could all just go terribly wrong, and no one could stop us.”
“I need to remind myself to bring that to films,” he added.
Adam Driver Addresses The Difference Between Theater and Film
The “Marriage Story” actor has a strong theater background and often uses his training to inform his on-screen performances.
“When you do a play, eight performances a week for four months, always the last performance is the best because you’re letting go of it,” he explained. “You’ve done it so many times.”
“It’s like repetition. You’re not thinking,” he continued. “You are thinking, but you’re not overthinking, and some parts are more economical, and you’ve solved that, but then you get another idea.”
“We don’t live in the theater. We live outside, and then we get fights and whatever, or make up, and then we bring all that into the theater, and somehow, if you’re working on something good, it works its way into what you’re doing,” he added.
He went on to say: “I’m like, ‘Oh, I need to remind myself to do that.’ You get limited takes, and in theater, you get a lot of takes.”
Adam Driver Wasn’t ‘Overthinking’ On The Set Of ‘Paper Tiger’
The actor felt he “wasn’t overthinking” while filming “Paper Tiger” because director James Gray’s “writing was so good.”
“That’s how I worked on this one,” he said. “I wasn’t overthinking, and again, the writing was so good that it did a lot of work for me, but I didn’t get stuck in an idea.”
“If I try to push a scene towards what I think it should be, it closes me off to so many other ideas that it could be,” he continued.
Driver went to praise his “Paper Tiger” costar, Miles Teller, who would help him add some improvisation to scenes.
“Miles is there, and he’s great, so he’s going to come up with something that I can’t predict, and then we can play,” he added.
“Paper Tiger” opens in select U.S. theaters on November 13, 2026, before expanding to a wide nationwide release on November 20, 2026.
