Adam Driver on the Challenge of Making Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker More Personal

Next month will see the long-awaited release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the final film in the Skywalker Saga, which first began with the original movie back in 1977. The new film will see the return of some newer franchise favorites, including Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the latest trilogy. Recently, Driver had the chance to speak with Total Film about the upcoming movie, and discussed the challenges of making his role more personal. He compared his journey of playing Kylo to his other new film, Marriage Story, which is the latest Noah Baumbach drama that chronicles the end of a relationship.

"In a way, Star Wars is a big blockbuster, which you would think would be maybe devoid of those conversations [about character]," Driver explained. "But I haven't found the process very dissimilar. You try to make Star Wars personal as much as anything else, and because J.J. [Abrams] was the director and because Rian Johnson was the director, it all came down to similar [things]… taking moments and breaking them into pieces and making sure you're truthful."

"The obvious difference is the rhythm of a set," he added. "A Star Wars set, there are 50 people all doing individual jobs, whether it be special effects or brushing a leaf or vacuuming something. There are just so many more moving pieces that finding your footing in the rhythm of that set… it's just longer."

Recently, Driver spoke with The New Yorker, and he revealed that he hates watching himself in movies. In fact, he compares it to a phobia and said he almost got sick while watching himself at the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to star a returning Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran, Joonas Suotamo, and Billie Lourd. New cast members include Naomi Ackie, Richard E. Grant, and Keri Russell, and the returning veteran actors are Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor. According to the director, J.J. Abrams, Leia will be featured in the film using unreleased footage of Carrie Fisher from Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is expected to hit theatres on December 20th.