Friday, February 14, 2025

James Austin Johnson on Nailing His Impression of Adam Driver: ‘I Never Saw Him Laugh, But He Said It Was Funny!’

Saturday Night Live cast member James Austin Johnson is no stranger to impressions. However, there’s one in particular that kept him on his toes. In an interview with GQ, published on Friday, Johnson revealed his excitement about impersonating Adam Driver because he loves his work. At the same time, he described being nervous since he performed his impression in front of the Star Wars actor.

“Doing Adam Driver to Adam Driver. Pretty nerve-racking. I love doing Adam Driver. I love Kylo Ren. I love Marriage Story. I love Girls. I love everything he does. I think he is hilarious and a little bit of a genius artist, and I like doing my impression of him,” he said. “But impressions are kind of demeaning just as a concept.”

Johnson’s enthusiasm for Driver is palpable, yet he acknowledges the pressure of impersonating someone so well-known. “And he is huge. Like, he’s both a terrifying man as a presence. And he’s an intimidating artist. You typically don’t get ’em both. You don’t typically get a soldier who’s a poet,” he added.

Driver’s physical presence matched his demeanor in Johnson’s eyes. “I’m doing my impression of him to him, and he was just at the opposite end of the table, just arms folded, kicked back, just watching me with a pretty scary look on his face,” he explained. Johnson described Driver as looking emotionless while he performed. He found the situation somewhat daunting, noting, “I think as much fun as he has, I don’t think anybody necessarily directly clowns on him all that much. And you’ve seen how he interacts with the press. That was a little terrifying. And I just had to shove it all down and try to do the best Adam Driver I could.”

Despite the intimidating atmosphere, Johnson received feedback from Driver that eased his nerves. “He thought it was funny,” Johnson recalled, before adding, “I never saw him laugh, but he told me he thought it was funny. I’m going to take him at his word.” This interaction highlights not only Johnson’s talent but also the respect he holds for Adam Driver as both a person and an artist.

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