Die-hard fans can be pretty intense, and the people who love Star Wars are no exception. The craze reached a fever pitch back at Comic Con in 2015, which occurred a few months before the first installment in the sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens, was released in theaters. Unfortunately for Adam Driver, who was a franchise newcomer at the time, he was a little unprepared for his first fandom encounter.
The Oscar-nominated actor recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show alongside Lady Gaga to promote Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. In between discussing faux-Italian accents and archival Gucci looks, he recounted his first experience at a major fan convention - namely, Comic Con. Although he’s an old pro now, the Marriage Story star wasn’t quite ready for the fans’ enthusiasm back then, or the crazy measures taken to prevent them from recognizing stars. He explained:
I didn’t know the rules of a Comic Con. I got in at the hotel at 2 in the morning. [And they’re like], ‘Is there anything you need?’ And I'm like, 'No, I’m fine. Maybe tomorrow I'll go get a coffee.' And they're like, 'Oh no, you can't get a coffee.' I'm like, 'Well, maybe I'll get a coffee in the hotel.' They're like, 'No, you can't get a coffee in the hotel. We have some masks in a bag, if you want to put a mask on in a bag. And they handed me, like, the option of an Iron Man mask or a Darth Vader mask.
It sounds like the set-up for a dad joke: Kylo Ren walks into a bar wearing a Darth Vader mask. While it may seem absurd, the management team was responsible for Adam Driver’s safety, and the Star Wars fans can be extremely passionate. But just how passionate were they? Adam Driver elaborated:
I opened my window, because I'd been in the room for 24 hours before this thing we were supposed to do, and then there was a band at the bottom of the building playing the Star Wars theme on repeat, because we [the cast] were all staying in the hotel. It was scary. … You know, you show up, and it’s 2000 people who are very devoted. It’s just a lot of energy, as you can imagine. … I mean, it's nice. [But] I'm not anxious to go again [laughs].
The Ben Solo actor seems like a chill soul in most of his interviews, so it’s not crazy to assume that the megawatt energy of a sci-fi convention might not be his cup of tea. Despite his seemingly overwhelming experience at Comic Con, however, he nevertheless appears to appreciate Star Wars fans. Take a look at the full clip below:
Though the actor has no plans to attend another event anytime soon, at least he can say he had a truly memorable experience, right? You can relive the actor's performance as Kylo Ren, as every film in Star Wars' Skywalker Saga is available to stream now on Disney+.
