Adam Driver Makes An Interesting Remark About Kylo Ren's Parents
Apparently, Kylo Ren still has some issues where his parents are concerned.
The man behind Kylo Ren's distinctive helmet, Adam Driver, was recently profiled in The New Yorker – and during the interview, he made an eyebrow-raising remark about Kylo's parents.
Driver described his character as "the son of these two religious zealots [...] who can be conceived as being committed to this religion above all else, above family."
Of course, the parents he's talking about are Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), two characters who have defined the Star Wars universe since they first hit the big screen in 1977. In Star Wars' sequel trilogy, audiences were introduced to Driver's Kylo Ren — formerly known as Ben Solo — who rebelled against all authority and shocked his family by joining the dark side and aligning with the First Order, even killing his father in his quest for control of the Force and complete domination. It still remains to be seen whether The Rise of Skywalker will remove Kylo Ren's mother from the picture as well; Fisher tragically died in 2016, leaving Leia's fate unknown (though she will appear in the film, thanks to unused footage from 2015's The Force Awakens).
Driver's comments about Han and Leia are pretty in line with how he feels about his own character, so it seems religious zealotry runs in the Solo-Organa family. In an interview with Empire, Driver said he considers Kylo Ren to be more of a "religious fanatic," someone deeply devoted to the First Order, than a true villain: "When they [meaning characters like Kylo Ren] think of their actions as morally justified, it makes them dangerous and unpredictable. There's no level they won't go to to accomplish what they're after. I never thought of the character as an evil person."
Demand for Driver is at an all-time high
The Rise of Skywalker will mark the third star turn as Kylo Ren for Driver, who mostly worked in indie films and on prestige shows like HBO's Girls before joining one of the biggest franchises in pop culture history. Throughout his relatively short yet incredibly illustrious career, Driver has proven himself as endlessly talented performer, appearing in projects big and small as his star continues to rise.
Boasting an incredibly distinctive look, an often surprising acting style, and an imposing stature (during his Broadway run in Burn This alongside fellow Star Wars star Keri Russell, New York Magazine literally ran a piece about how "big" he looked during the play), Driver has appeared in films by acclaimed directors like Spike Lee (in the Academy Award winning BlacKkKlansman), Martin Scorsese (in the religious drama Silence), Steven Soderbergh (in the comedy Logan Lucky), and the Coen brothers (in their comedy-drama Inside Llewyn Davis, which also featured Star Wars' Oscar Isaac).
In the recent New Yorker profile — which details everything from Driver's insane former Marine diet (spoiler: it involved several eggs and an entire chicken a day) to his intense pre-show rituals (specifically, putting his head under a running faucet) — several of those directors are quoted about working with Driver, with each veteran praising the acclaimed actor.
So, what is such a prestigious actor doing in a huge blockbuster franchise like Star Wars? There's no doubt that Driver's anchoring performance as Kylo Ren is part of the reason for the sequel trilogy's enormous success. As far as the decision to cast him is concerned, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker helmer J.J. Abrams was clearly looking for an actor who would put an enormous amount of thought into the intense, brooding Kylo Ren — making Driver the perfect performer for the job.
Driver has a number of films on the horizon, including Netflix's Marriage Story alongside Scarlett Johansson, which will hit the streaming service on December 6. Fans can catch him in his (likely) final appearance as Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker on December 20 to see where he takes his fascinating character.