Kylo Ren was one of the most trolled characters in Star Wars: The Force Awakens but Adam Driver literally shut the trolls with his performance in The Last Jedi. His role had more character and was far more stronger than in the previous film. He was also sharing the screen with Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill in each of the films which is a big deal. At the red carpet premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Tokyo, he signs autographs and waves out at the hundreds of fans who scream out ‘Kylo Ren!’ as he walks past them. When he’s asked if the eighth episode of the franchise will reveal Kylo’s backstory, he hesitates and says, "I think it picks up right from where the last movie ends. I think that he's had a kind of crisis of faith and it needs to be seen whether that doubles his effort to do what he's set out to do or it makes him completely change direction." (ALSO READ: Star Wars The Last Jedi movie review: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley are the only saving grace of this fantasy fiction)
Here are excerpts from the interview.
These days at Halloween, you find many kids dressed up as Kylo Ren. How do you react to that?
It's great fun for me. I live in New York in a building with a number of apartments and kids and I supply them with light sabers and masks and motivation to be evil to their parents! (laughs)
We've heard you're always in character on the sets. Does that help in any way?
That's not entirely true - sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not. It all depends on what the day is and who the scene is with. What you see is an action-adventure family drama, but in between it's pure comedy. With stormtroopers trying to find out how to go to the bathroom to puppets not working and giving everyone the finger, it's sometimes hard to stay focused.
We read somewhere that you don't watch your own movies, but you made an exception for The Force Awakens. Will you do that for The Last Jedi as well?
I saw it couple of weeks ago. But yes, typically I try not to watch anything because I know what's going on while we were shooting it. Apart from that, I don't find it helpful in a lot of ways. If anything, it makes me more self conscious. But for something like The Force Awakens, when you are shooting it, the visual part which is very much a big part of the movie, is missing. So many times we would hear, 'Trust us, there's space behind you or trust us, your light saber is working'. So I wanted to watch it. And it's interesting watching yourself in these movies. What Rian has done with the new one in particular, has never been seen in a Star Wars movie which is exciting.
How do you handle fame or adulation?
I haven't really found a way to process it nor do I give it much thought. I don't enjoy this kind of attention. It's not a natural part of being in the world, and also, seems counter to my job. My job is to be anonymous in a way and make mistakes and observe life. And when you feel you're the one who's being observed, it's a weird caliberation.
Did Mark Hamill or Harrison Ford sit you down for any advice?
No they are not the kind of people who will sit you down and tell you what your experience is going to be. If anything, they are very learn-by-example kind of people. Their relationships with the movies will never be mine and vice versa.
It's usually actors who bring a lot of baggage to the film, but here, it was the film that brought in a lot of baggage. In a situation like that, how do you approach your role?
I try not to think of it as a Star Wars movie, whether it was The Force Awakens or this. With this one, I had more time to step back and appreciate the scale of it, because the sets are so impressive and I just didn't take that in the first time because I was so petrified. But I do my best not to think of it as a Star Wars movie. Of course, there are light sabers, helmets and ships flying around, but you still have to treat it like an independent movie. You have to break it down into pieces and solve one piece at a time and hopefully, it will lead to another piece. You have to think, 'Okay he's wearing a helmet, what is he hiding from, or who’s the person he’s trying to be as opposed to when he’s not wearing the helmet'. You have to focus on the little things. It helps just making it as real as possible.
Is it difficult to play the bad guy than the hero?
No, I didn't think of him as a bad guy. I thought of him as a good guy in his world. I thought of him as what he thinks he’s doing is right as opposed to what he’s doing is evil. I know people who think they are right or morally justified in what they are doing and can't hear another side.
Do friends and family try and find out what's happening in the next episode?
Not at all. I think true fans of the movies don't want to know. They want to experience it in a dark room with strangers. And that’s just how I would like them be.
(Text by Deepali Singh)
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