Adam Driver is my favorite actor of all-time. One of the many reasons is his versatility. Never before have you seen him in this type of context, though.
Sure, he’s hosted Saturday Night Live and slayed it multiple times with iconic sketches galore. Not to mention, his previous opening monologue was a feat of genius and offbeat comedic timing even the most seasoned, singularly-focused improvisational pros couldn’t pull off.
…And now our guy just f*cks around and casually hammers out some downright filthy work on the keys, while still being very funny, in a Santa-centric serenade that should go on the short list of the best modern SNL openers:
You might be saying, “Is there anything this man can’t do!?” I’d say I don’t really know. He’s pretty badass. Was in The Marines. Now is the best actor of his generation, to paraphrase and partially quote Martin Scorsese.
There are many a zinger in this act by Driver. I love his request for Santa to literally murder TikTok couples who play pranks on each other. It’s a joke, y’all. Don’t get in your feelings.
Speaking of which, of course there’s a Star Wars joke. Driver often gets approached by fans of the galaxy far, far away who get angry at him for killing Han Solo. The actor who plays Kylo Ren/Ben Solo contends that “WOKENESS” killed Han Solo, not him!
So imperial/First Order-y. Totally checks out. PS, that GIF is from the Undercover Boss parody sketches where Driver plays Kylo to most humorous effect. Those are must-see material.
Also mentioned in the monologue is the gift Driver is about to give us all on Christmas Day, which is the Michael Mann-directed Ferrari. Very much looking forward to that.
…But for real, can we just reiterate how insane it is that Driver — who to my knowledge hasn’t flexed his piano chops for any character in any medium before — is as good at playing piano as he is? Where did this come from!? I had a soft awareness that he played piano, yet any time someone brought it up to him (rare), he’d downplay it. Pssh. The guy has some modesty, too. Talk about the complete package.
This had to feel cathartic in some way for Driver. Not that he feels the need to prove anything to anyone, I’m sure he could give a damn. But like…he talks about turning 40, and he’s spent presumably many years of his life, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal yet another creative talent of his. Not that you’d expect anything different from Adam Driver. It’s just that…wow, was he ready for the moment when it arrived.
In case you’ve somehow missed the best of Driver on SNL, here’s a good sampler:
“Star Wars Undercover: Starkiller Base”
“Career Day”
‘Adam Driver’s Chill Monologue”
