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If anyone ever asks me what I think best represents Adam's sense of humor, I'm going to point to this ad (and "Backstage with Adam Driver | Squarespace Big Game Commercial 2023," which manages to be side-splittingly funny even after many, many views; I will freely confess to enjoying it more than the official ad, but that's a tale for another portrait).
Adam's dedication to the bit is always impressive; it's the thing that makes all of his SNL performances so funny, that no matter how bizarre, outlandish, or ridiculous the scene, he's going to be a Serious Actor for every single one, sometimes to a hilariously overdramatic extreme (he was a soap opera worthy KETCHUP BOTTLE for chrissakes). He brings that same discipline even when he's playing himself (anyone else remember the John Oliver bit?); add that to the fact that we all know, because he's TOLD us, that he's more than a bit of an internet luddite (the very idea of him representing a company that makes websites, of all things), and the commercial gets even funnier.
It presents, as Adam himself put it, a straightforward concept skewed about 15 degrees to the left. Wandering the desert as he muses seriously on the self-creating conundrum of a website that makes websites, he multiplies into nearly infinite versions of himself, which then all, except the original, get pulled into The Singularity they've created.
Some go whooping and laughing, others fly end over end, sideways, upside down, but the Original Man keeps his footing, stoic mask and sunglasses firmly in place until just before the very end; as the last of the Infinite!Adams is swept into the swelling light, the camera swoops in closely as he pulls off his sunglasses, and we see the tiniest of self-satisfied smirks crook up the left corner of his mouth as he declares, "You DID it, Adam Driver," to which his duplicates all chorus from the Great Beyond, "No, YOU did it, Adam Driver!"
(And he really did too; the stunt coordinator revealed on instagram that every Adam we saw flying by really was Adam himself, and praised his skills, saying that it was clear he'd done a lot of wire work before.)
Does it make any sense? Not really. Do we care? Not at all!
Do I think he probably had a lot of fun making it? Almost certainly, and that's the best part.
This moment is just after he's made his declaration, the light from The Singularity washing over him. The overexposed nature of the frame, as well as the already strong lighting, means that we don't see much in the way of detail in terms of his moles, freckles, and crinkles. The reflected light reveals the dark side of his face, but what I loved the most, and the reason I painted this particular moment, is the way the light catches in his irises, highlighting their striking coloring. And the smirk, I do love that tiny smirk. It's rumpling the dimple on his left cheek a little bit, which is catching some of that reflected light, and we can just see the tips of the crinkles of his crow's feet under his left eye.
Reference used was a screencap of the ad, taken and edited by me.
About 9 hrs of painting time. I thought I was done once, let it sit overnight, & decided in the morning that I had a couple more things I wanted to do (and I'm glad I did!).
Adam's dedication to the bit is always impressive; it's the thing that makes all of his SNL performances so funny, that no matter how bizarre, outlandish, or ridiculous the scene, he's going to be a Serious Actor for every single one, sometimes to a hilariously overdramatic extreme (he was a soap opera worthy KETCHUP BOTTLE for chrissakes). He brings that same discipline even when he's playing himself (anyone else remember the John Oliver bit?); add that to the fact that we all know, because he's TOLD us, that he's more than a bit of an internet luddite (the very idea of him representing a company that makes websites, of all things), and the commercial gets even funnier.
It presents, as Adam himself put it, a straightforward concept skewed about 15 degrees to the left. Wandering the desert as he muses seriously on the self-creating conundrum of a website that makes websites, he multiplies into nearly infinite versions of himself, which then all, except the original, get pulled into The Singularity they've created.
Some go whooping and laughing, others fly end over end, sideways, upside down, but the Original Man keeps his footing, stoic mask and sunglasses firmly in place until just before the very end; as the last of the Infinite!Adams is swept into the swelling light, the camera swoops in closely as he pulls off his sunglasses, and we see the tiniest of self-satisfied smirks crook up the left corner of his mouth as he declares, "You DID it, Adam Driver," to which his duplicates all chorus from the Great Beyond, "No, YOU did it, Adam Driver!"
(And he really did too; the stunt coordinator revealed on instagram that every Adam we saw flying by really was Adam himself, and praised his skills, saying that it was clear he'd done a lot of wire work before.)
Does it make any sense? Not really. Do we care? Not at all!
Do I think he probably had a lot of fun making it? Almost certainly, and that's the best part.
This moment is just after he's made his declaration, the light from The Singularity washing over him. The overexposed nature of the frame, as well as the already strong lighting, means that we don't see much in the way of detail in terms of his moles, freckles, and crinkles. The reflected light reveals the dark side of his face, but what I loved the most, and the reason I painted this particular moment, is the way the light catches in his irises, highlighting their striking coloring. And the smirk, I do love that tiny smirk. It's rumpling the dimple on his left cheek a little bit, which is catching some of that reflected light, and we can just see the tips of the crinkles of his crow's feet under his left eye.
Reference used was a screencap of the ad, taken and edited by me.
About 9 hrs of painting time. I thought I was done once, let it sit overnight, & decided in the morning that I had a couple more things I wanted to do (and I'm glad I did!).
