The Eerie Depth of Adam Driver on ‘Saturday Night time Dwell’

When this week’s Saturday Night time Dwell host, Adam Driver, defined in his opening monologue that he had a “very deep and private relationship with Santa,” it was fairly apparent that no matter was to observe wasn’t going to be your typical vacation cheer.

The Oscar-nominated actor sat down at a piano, demonstrated that he actually might play it, after which began barking his want record to the jolly man within the North Pole. Amongst his needs for Christmas: “A type of large metallic Tesla vans” that will “pair completely with [his] teeny tiny micropenis.” He additionally revealed that he would love individuals to cease coming as much as him on the road saying that he killed Han Solo, given his function as Kylo Ren within the newest Star Wars trilogy. “I didn’t kill Han Solo,” he mentioned. “Wokeness killed Han Solo.”

All through the episode, Driver continued to ship this type of warped model of season’s greetings. Even when he wasn’t enjoying a model of himself, he was throwing himself into characters who have been cranky and obstinate and, frankly, simply bizarre. Whereas some lauded actors come onto SNL to show they are often goofy, Driver, who was internet hosting for the fourth time, makes use of his pure depth to derive laughs from simply how severe he’s. I don’t suppose the true Adam Driver, who’s starring as Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann’s Ferrari this yr, is really perturbed about “wokeness” or all that insecure concerning the dimension of his genitals, however he convincingly performed the function of Adam Driver as a reactionary who believed Santa might assist him with these issues.

As an actor, Driver is understood for his nearly extreme and sometimes idiosyncratic dedication to his craft. A 2019 New Yorker profile described how, when he was learning at Juilliard, he would run 5 miles to highschool each day and eat a complete hen for lunch. One among his most well-known onscreen gestures is punching a wall within the movie Marriage Story throughout an argument. This could seemingly make him an odd match for SNL, however as he has proved in his many appearances, he’s truly an awesome match for sketch comedy partly as a result of he refuses to deal with the fabric as any lesser than his different work. He may very well be doing the silliest factor possible and he would nonetheless be stone-faced.

This was particularly noticeable in an episode main into Christmas, the place various the sketches have been concerning the staid traditions that come round this time of yr. Take, as an example, the pre-taped bit “Previous Mates.” Mikey Day and Chloe Fineman performed a person and his spouse visiting his mother and father for the vacations. In his childhood bed room, she remarked on an image of him as a child with a former pal. Day’s character determined to achieve out to mentioned companion, Keith, performed by Driver. At first the interplay appeared candy, however then it turned out that Keith had turn out to be a intercourse offender and onetime sperm-bank janitor who changed the samples along with his personal sperm, and whose crimes have been the topic of a Netflix documentary. Driver expertly performed Keith as a tragic sack whose loneliness simply matched his menace. As Day wavered between feeling sorry for Keith and being horrified, so did we.

That capability to carry a effectively of anger additionally got here up in a sketch the place Driver performed a mustachioed man setting meals on a desk for a vacation gathering whereas saying “beep beep,” as if he was just a little automotive. His niceness was challenged by one other man (Andrew Dismukes) with the identical facial hair who additionally had a penchant for saying “beep beep” as he put down his dish. They reached an deadlock the place they each mentioned “beep beep” on the similar time, and you could possibly actually consider, regardless of the softness of his voice, that Driver might need turned to violence if Dismukes didn’t yield.

Nonetheless, maybe the triumph of Driver’s dedication got here throughout a second that eschewed any Christmas theme. Taking part in a creepy child with full command of vocabulary on his first airplane trip, Driver refused to let the truth that he had doll arms take away from his dedication. His screams have been highly effective, and his face when he pooped in his diaper was a masterful show of focus.

You don’t need to be an awesome actor to be an awesome SNL host, however Adam Driver is each as a result of he sees the drama in absurdity. The vacation season is an absurd time of yr. Driver, nonetheless, supplied a dose of creepiness as a welcome antidote to saccharine festiveness.