Adam Driver On The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

Bringing Cervantes Into The Age of Advertising

♦ Adam Driver talks about appearing in Terry Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote to Tripwire’s contributing writer James Mottram…

Q: What did you learn from Terry Gilliam on this film?

ADAM DRIVER: He’s a very inspiring person to be on set with. It’s like a catharsis for him. I’ve never worked with him before, so I don’t know how this compares to any of his other movies…Baron von Munchausen or Fisher King, say. I don’t know the difference. But watching him, it’s hard to see him in a director’s chair because he’s always standing up at the monitor acting the scene out with you. He has no filter for how he’s feeling about something. If it’s not working, it’s obvious. If it’s working well, it’s obvious. He’s only limited by budget in terms of his imagination.

Q: Did you sense his relief in finally getting this film made?

ADAM DRIVER: I knew he had to get it out of his system. He said that before.

Q: Did you joke about the curse that this project has previously been under?

ADAM DRIVER: It’s hard to find anything that Terry doesn’t joke about. We had a celebration when we passed the first week! The first time, they only shot a week’s worth of footage, so even getting past the first week was a victory. Honestly, I think of every movie that’s being made as a little miracle. We happened to get everybody there at the same time to tell this story. I had this experience with Scorsese. He tried to make Silence for twenty years.

Q: Your character is a filmmaker who is stuck making commercials. What did you make of that, thematically?

ADAM DRIVER: There’s the inspirational part of your job, and there’s the business element that’s part of it. There’s the Quixote who is all inspiration and is totally free and that’s seductive and interesting too. Sometimes inspiration can be toxic if it’s not handled properly in a way. They go to make a movie in a small town, and it levels the town in a way. Some people are really caught up in the momentum of doing it, but have no avenue when it leaves. Toby is a tourist. He comes in, makes this thing, and has another place to put it.

Q: We see you on a donkey quite a lot in the film. Did you enjoy that?

ADAM DRIVER: Not so much. Donkeys are stereotypically stubborn. Plus my feet barely hover above the ground!

Q: What do you prefer – a blockbuster like Star Wars or an indie movie?

ADAM DRIVER: It’s not more or less. That’s the great thing about cinema. It’s Star Wars and it’s Paterson. I don’t prefer one or the other. One has a bigger budget and can make you feel a little more comfortable. But I don’t think people are watching the movie going ‘Oh they had great catering, I’m sure his trailer was really comfortable.’ It doesn’t really matter. We have to make it truthful, the pressure is just as high. We’re asking people to give us two and a half hours of their time, it better be good.

Terry Gilliam The Man Who Killed Don Quixote interview www.tripwiremagazine.co.uk

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote doesn’t currently have a UK or US distributor