Adam Driver was called the best actor of his generation, yet he's still self conscious like the rest of us

Adam Driver is one of my favorite actors. This past fall, he showed off his acting chops in what I think was the best performance of his career. Sorry, not Star Wars, but in the Netflix original movie Marriage Story.

Driver has even been called "one of the best, if not the best, actors of his generation" by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese (woah, can you say best compliment ever!)

Yet, even after all that, Driver is still self conscious.

He HATES watching himself, or even listening to himself, in his movies. He said he was "mortified" watching himself in HBO's Girls and "went totally cold" and "felt like I had to puke" the first time he saw himself as Kylo Ren in Star Wars. At the premiere of BlacKkKlansman, he actually hid in the green room until it was time for the closing bow.

"I don’t want to hear the bad acting that probably was happening during that clip. ... I’ve watched myself or listened to myself before, then always hate it. And then wish I could change it, but you can’t," Driver has said.

Some have described Driver's aversion to hearing his own voice as a "phobia." In December, Driver walked out of an NPR interview after host Terry Gross played a clip of him singing during a scene in Marriage Story.

People have debated on social media whether Driver overreacted or was justified. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton even called him a "diva." But Gross KNEW that Driver was uncomfortable hearing himself, yet, still, he didn't respect his guest's boundaries.

Christa Marie, contributor on The Mighty, wrote, "Anxiety doesn’t always make sense. ... As someone with post-traumatic stress disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, I relate to Driver’s seemingly ‘extreme’ response over something small."

"It’s often hard for individuals without anxiety to understand the concept of being so consumed by something they physically cannot do it, but that doesn’t make it any less real."

Yet, even though Driver may have anxiety about watching himself on screen, it doesn't stop him from going out and doing what he loves. That doesn't make him a diva; that makes him brave.

Maybe you hate seeing photos of yourself, listening to your voice in a recording, reading your writings, etc. We are all critical of ourselves. But that doesn't mean others see you that way. It doesn't mean you're not good at what you do. And it never means you give up and stop doing what you love.

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