Adam Driver collects great directors like Pokemon

It's pretty clear to me that Driver's philosophy is that if he works with amazing directors, he's going to improve his chances of being in great movies and improve his craft. While it doesn't always work out and he sometimes has small roles, for the most part it does seem to pay off. Driver's average movie score on Metacritic is 70/100 with movies like Baumbach's "Marriage Story" (94/100), Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" (93/100), Jarmush's "Paterson" (90/100) and Spielberg's "Lincoln" (87/100) at the top.

Other than Daniel Day Lewis (76/100), you'd struggle to find other actors with average metacritic scores as high as Driver. For example, Dicaprio (64/100), Cruise (62/100), Frances McDormand (67/100), Joaquin Phoenix (63/100), Denzel (64/100), Hanks (62/100).

Driver seems to seek out roles like he's adding great directors to his Pokédex.

Adam Driver's Pokedex:

1. Martin Scorsese

  • Driver’s Film: Silence (2016)
  • Notable Films: Taxi Driver (1976), Goodfellas (1990), Raging Bull (1980)

2. Francis Ford Coppola

  • Driver’s Film: Megalopolis (2024)
  • Notable Films: The Godfather Trilogy (1972–1990), Apocalypse Now (1979), The Conversation (1974)

3. Clint Eastwood

  • Driver’s Film: J. Edgar (2011)
  • Notable Films: Unforgiven (1992), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Gran Torino (2008)

4. Joel and Ethan Coen

  • Driver’s Film: Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
  • Notable Films: Fargo (1996), No Country for Old Men (2007), The Big Lebowski (1998)

5. Steven Spielberg

  • Driver’s Film: Lincoln (2012)
  • Notable Films: Jaws (1975), Schindler’s List (1993), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

6. Ridley Scott

  • Driver’s Films: House of Gucci (2021), The Last Duel (2021)
  • Notable Films: Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Gladiator (2000)

7. Michael Mann

  • Driver’s Film: Ferrari (2023)
  • Notable Films: Heat (1995), The Insider (1999), Collateral (2004)

8. Steven Soderbergh

  • Driver’s Film: Logan Lucky (2017)
  • Notable Films: Traffic (2000), Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Erin Brockovich (2000)

9. Jim Jarmusch

  • Driver’s Films: Paterson (2016), The Dead Don’t Die (2019)
  • Notable Films: Stranger Than Paradise (1984), Dead Man (1995), Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

10. Spike Lee

  • Driver’s Film: BlacKkKlansman (2018)
  • Notable Films: Do the Right Thing (1989), Malcolm X (1992), 25th Hour (2002)

11. Noah Baumbach

  • Driver’s Films: Marriage Story (2019), White Noise (2022), Frances Ha (2012)
  • Notable Films: The Squid and the Whale (2005), Frances Ha (2012), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

12. Terry Gilliam

  • Driver’s Film: The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
  • Notable Films: Brazil (1985), 12 Monkeys (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

13. Leos Carax

  • Driver’s Film: Annette (2021)
  • Notable Films: Holy Motors (2012), The Lovers on the Bridge (1991)

14. J.J. Abrams

  • Driver’s Films: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
  • Notable Films: Star Trek (2009), Super 8 (2011), Mission: Impossible III (2006)

15. Rian Johnson

  • Driver’s Film: Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
  • Notable Films: Knives Out (2019), Looper (2012), Brick (2005)

16. Jeff Nichols

  • Driver’s Film: Midnight Special (2016)
  • Notable Films: Take Shelter (2011), Mud (2012), Loving (2016)

Additional Thoughts

  • Flops: It's interesting that some of the biggest duds Driver has been involved in also happen to be from some of the greatest directors past their prime. Coppolla's "Megalopolis", Gilliam's "Man who Killed Don Quixote", Ridley Scott's "House of Gucci" a few examples, but if the idea is to soak up everything you can from the greatest to ever do it, your opportunities to work with legends in their mid-80s are limited.
  • Future Targets: I imagine there certain consistently panned directors, like Zack Snyder (average metacritic score in the 40s with peak being 59/100), that he'd want to avoid, but I'd take a wild guess that Driver's agent has an open call to directors like Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Denis Villenueve, etc that's like "Hey... my boy is ready when you are". Who do you guess is at the top of his wish list?
  • Driver a Future Director?: I don't know if he's ever expressed an interest in making his own projects, but it would be difficult to find someone who has worked on films with that many incredible directors. You have to imagine he's learned a lot. That's like the world's greatest filmmaking masterclass. He kinda owes it to everyone to give directing a shot at some point.