65's Ariana Greenblatt Recalls Wholesome Moments Working With Adam Driver - Exclusive
Hanging out with Adam Driver for an entire movie is pretty much a dream, and young acting superstar Ariana Greenblatt got that opportunity during the duo's new sci-fi film "65." The movie focuses on Driver's character Mills and Greenblatt's Koa as the pair escape Earth (and a slew of dinosaurs) 65 million years ago.
The movie was filmed during the height of COVID, making the small cast a kismet choice. Of course, with so much time together during filming, Greenblatt and Driver developed a partnership as close as their characters have. Throughout the process, the pair bonded over their similar senses of humor, nicknames, and intense weather conditions. In the film, Mills and Koa have more of a father-daughter relationship, while Greenblatt and Driver were peers going through the filming trenches together.
Looper spoke to Greenblatt during an exclusive interview where she recalled the wholesome moments she shared with Driver during filming for "65."
A longtime Driver fan
When we asked her what it was like getting to work with Adam Driver and whether she learned anything from him about acting — or life in general — Ariana Greenblatt said, "I've loved Adam's work for a long time. I think he's brilliant, as many people would agree. Working with him, especially one-on-one every day, was really nerve-wracking and intimidating."
There's nothing like a two-person cast and an intense film to bring two people together. "But we got into the hang of it, and we definitely bonded with the weather conditions that we were living in for a while," Greenblatt added. "Adam and I have a very similar sense of humor, so anytime we saw a little light in the situation, we'd make a sarcastic joke together. I learned a lot from him."
You can learn a whole lot from someone by just watching them, which Greenblatt took full advantage of. She explained, "He doesn't even know, but I would watch and observe him do his thing, and it was so crazy to watch how he does it and how he fully commits. He's in it to win it, and that's definitely something I took away from filming that."
Last-name basis with Adam Driver
Ariana Greenblatt recalled some of the jokes she had with Adam Driver on set, noting, "He would call me Greenblatt only. I don't remember him ever calling me Ariana. He would say, 'Hey, Greenblatt.' Like, 'Oh, hey, Driver, what's up?'"
Anyone else a little jealous of that fun dynamic with Driver? "Towards the end of filming ... My mom and I like crocheting. We crochet. We're like little grandmas together. We make blankets a lot of the time. So we made him a wrap gift, and it was this big blanket, and we gave it to him," she added. "Another thing is we baked him cookies once because we're in the rain, we're in the mud, we're screaming, we're crying, and we're almost breaking bones. A lot's going on."
Yet there's nothing like some baked goods to cheer up the masses. Greenblatt said, "I was like, 'Let's make his day with some cookies.' And he was like, 'Ariana, why are you so nice?' I was like, 'Look, man, we got to do this. We're going to do this together. It's just us two, and we got to kill it.'"
But as much as Driver is bestie goals, nothing can quite top man's best friend. She gushed about the fuzziest member of the Driver clan: "He also would bring his dog to set all the time, and his dog is like my best friend ever. That's a good memory for sure." Well, if Driver needs any dog sitting in the future, he knows who to call!
"65" releases exclusively in theaters on March 10.