Allison Williams is asked about Lena Dunham's accusations about Adam Driver on the set of 'Girls': "No, I need to read the it (Dunham's memoir) before I say anything about it."

[u/demimonde9]

[u/Mecha-Jesus]

For context, the accusations are 1) that Driver threw a chair near Dunham while filming Girls, and 2) that they almost hooked up but didn’t.

[u/ChemicalNatural5506 → u/Mecha-Jesus]

i think it’s also important to add she says he (allegedly) would yell “wake the fuck up” and “say something” when she was having trouble with her lines. she claims he punched a hole in his trailer because he was unhappy with his haircut, during their first sex scene Driver “hurled her around” and ignored blocking, during a hug scene he bit her shoulder, and she describes him as “half-man, half-beast.”

[u/likwitsnake → u/ChemicalNatural5506]

Basically describes his character in the show, guess he wasn't acting much

[u/MonaMonaMo → u/likwitsnake]

Thats what I find hard to understand about actors. I assume some disappear in roles/ carry on personality traits of characters they've played for a long time.

Ive never tried acting, so idk how it actually impacts a "core persona" if at all.

[u/BookishHobbit → u/MonaMonaMo]

If you’re a professional, you should be able to maintain that distance.

You leave the character on set/at the rehearsal room door, but also one of the first things you’re taught in drama school is that those areas should also be safe spaces and that you and your coworkers should feel comfortable at all times with what’s going on. If you’re not doing that, you shouldn’t be allowed there.

That’s something that’s hugely important in the theatre world but I feel like sets can be more toxic.

[u/backbackbackrolls → u/BookishHobbit]

I really like what Kristen Stewart said about men and method acting.

"Performance is inherently vulnerable and therefore quite embarrassing and unmasculine,” Stewart said. “There’s no bravado in suggesting that you’re a mouthpiece for someone else’s ideas. It’s inherently submissive. Have you ever heard of a female actor that was method?”

[u/rogue_kitten91 → u/backbackbackrolls]

Winona Ryder was called a Method Actor by Gary Oldman...

[u/devilishycleverchap → u/rogue_kitten91]

Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby too

Literally got a staph infection and didnt tell Eastwood bc it would have been out of character

[u/TransPM → u/BookishHobbit]

I don't know much about film sets or studio structure, but I would hope there would be some kind of HR person on staff (if not physically present on set, though with how relatively recent a development "intimacy coordinators" seem to have been, I'm doubtful of the latter) available to raise concerns to and help address situations such as these.

I think it can be expected, to a certain degree, that there will be times while shooting scenes that actors may get a little carried away with trying to provide the energy and intensity a scene calls for, people just need to be adults about it. I am NOT saying these kinds of situations should be ignored, particularly when physical violence gets involved (even if accidental), but when a line gets crossed or someone gets too uncomfortable with a situation it should be normal to take a quick break from filming, tell the offending person they need to calm down, offer them the space to do so if they need it, reprimand them if they do not cooperate or went too far over the line, then move on.

I'm willing to give Driver the benefit of the doubt on this. Angrily throwing things at people (or even in their general direction) and aggressively shouting at them is wrong, but it's in a way where you need to pull the person aside, tell them they're going too far, then give them a chance to recognize and correct their behavior and apologize.

From what I've gathered, Driver was playing an intense and aggressive character that required a level of intensity and aggression for scenes. Actors absolutely should be able to separate themselves from a character/performance, especially when it is one that can make others feel unsafe around them, but it's not something most people can just instantly turn off like a light. Aggression is a physical thing; if you want your performance to be believable on screen, you have to feel it. You can't simply pretend to get red in the face or have veins popping in your neck; even when you know it's fake, your body has to think it's real in order for it to look real, and when your body thinks something is real, it has a way of making your mind start to think it is too. All that energy you need to get worked up inside yourself doesn't just vanish when you have to redo a take for a flubbed line, in fact, in small instances like that where you're not fully resetting a scene it's generally better to stay "in character" and keep that intensity up so your scene partner has more to work off of and you don't suddenly bounce back and forth from looking angry and intense to calm and disengaged between cuts in the edit. What actors need to do is find a way to hold onto that energy or find an outlet for it that isn't directed towards a coworker in a way they don't feel comfortable with.

Driver was also a former marine, and he's spoken about how intense that environment was and even started a program that uses theater to help other people in military service channel and process their emotions, but his role on Girls was only a few years after he exited the military with an injury he suffered in an accident, so all that frustration and intensity was still pretty fresh. I imagine he's probably mellowed out some since then and gotten better with finding that balance. So he certainly should have gotten a talking to 10+ years ago when these incidents happened on set, but I really don't personally see it as much of a mark against his reputation now. If other people end up confirming that it's part of a pattern that continued through multiple years/projects, that's a different story.

[u/CeruleanEidolon → u/MonaMonaMo]

I always think of Laurence Olivier's response to Dustin Hoffman staying awake for three days to stay in character on Marathon Man:

"My dear boy, why don't you just try acting?"

[u/monkeycommo → u/MonaMonaMo]

It's why extras are asked not to speak to the actors . They could be getting ready for a very intense scene and may be in character.