Though the best Adam Driver movies are often dramas or comedies, the actor is known by most for playing Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. However, the actor has portrayed different characters during his 10-year big-screen career, collaborating with indie directors and renowned auteurs, national and international alike. Before reaching worldwide fame thanks to Star Wars, Driver had already acted in movies by acclaimed directors such as Steven Spielberg and Noah Baumbach. Still, at the time, his most prominent role had been in television, where Adam Driver starred in Lena Dunham’s Girls as her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Adam Sackler.

His ongoing career as a screen actor started around the same time as his television and Broadway careers. Driver’s first role on Broadway was that of Frank Gardner in Mrs. Warren’s Profession. 2021 was one of Driver’s busiest years, with Leos Carax’s Annette and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and House Of Gucci all hitting theaters. With Driver working on indie gems and blockbuster movies alike, and his big screen career clearly flourishing, looking back at all his previous acting roles remains interesting thanks to the diversity.

30. Annette (2021)

• Streaming now on Prime Video

Leos Carax’s dreamlike and dark musical Annette received praise for its actors’ performances. The musical follows the complicated relationship of a jet-set couple, Henry and Ann, and how it changes when their daughter Annette is born. The child is portrayed by a wooden puppet, and the movie’s tragic approach to telling the story resulted in a mixed reaction from the audience. However, the movie received critical acclaim and Adam Driver picked up the Best Actor nomination from the César Awards.

29. Bluebird (2013)

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The premise of the 2013 drama, which examines the reactions of inhabitants of a small town in Maine after a tragedy happens, showed promise. Nevertheless, the film only touches upon the themes of guilt and division in the community without thoroughly examining them, despite focusing precisely on how the town reels from the tragedy. Compared to other Adam Driver movies, he has only a small role as the victim child’s mother’s love interest. Critics praised the movie for its atmosphere.

28. Midnight Special (2016)

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The 2016 sci-fi drama from Jeff Nichols focuses on a dad and his child with special powers on the run from the police and the cult they previously lived with. Driver plays an NSA analyst that tries to sort out where the two are heading, a minor role that is nevertheless central to its ending. Like many Adam Driver movies, it was praised by critics, with an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising its Steven Spielberg influences. Its ending is also satisfying and similar in ways to E.T. The Extraterrestrial.

27. Hungry Hearts (2014)

• Stream now on AMC

The 2014 Italian drama follows couple Jude and Mina and their family life in New York City after their son is born. Their parenting styles are different, with Mina endangering the child. The movie is deeply disturbing, and its ending does not leave viewers with anything, save perhaps for sadness, the only possible emotion after watching characters hurting each other in the worst possible ways. Driver and Rohrwacher’s performances are superb, for which they both won the Coppa Volpi at the 71st Venice International Film Festival.

26. 65 (2023)

• Currently still in theaters

This is among the Adam Driver movies that should have been a sure-fire hit and a critic-proof big-budget release. 65 was an original sci-fi movie that mixed the idea of space travel with dinosaurs. The movie did something curious and revealed the twist in the trailers that this was a sci-fi movie in Earth's past, with a spaceman battling dinosaurs, possibly the biggest selling point. What resulted was 65 bombing at the box office. It also had negative reviews from critics and ended up a disappointment when it comes to one of Adam Driver's rare leading man performances.

25. J. Edgar (2011)

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Clint Eastwood’s biopic about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover isn’t one of the stronger Adam Driver movies, but it does focus on Hoover’s hypothesized homosexuality in a previously unseen way. The main love story being treated as such despite opposition by some historians makes history, especially considering how often LGBTQ+ people are erased from it. Adam Driver only has a minor role in the crime drama, but Eastwood’s movie is his first appearance on the big screen and the promise of great things to come from Driver is readily apparent.

24. House Of Gucci (2021)

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Driver collaborated twice with Ridley Scott in 2021. House of Gucci is inspired by the real story of the murder of Maurizio Gucci in the 1990s. While the movie polarized audiences, Lada Gaga and Driver’s portrayals of Patrizia Reggiani and Maurizio Gucci, respectively, are some of the strongest high points of the movie. However, when it comes to Adam Driver movies, the movie was a hit, earning one Oscar nomination while Lady Gaga and Jared Leto picked up Screen Actors Guild nominations for their performances.

23. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

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The final installment of the Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, sees Adam Driver reprising his role as Kylo Ren. Star Wars IX’s production surely had many bumps in the road, with the director changing in its midst. Kylo Ren's arc, in particular, is fascinating. But J.J. Abrams overcorrected after the studio gave too much weight to the backlash from some fans after the previous Star Wars film, resulting in a conclusion that alienated even more fans. What resulted was the last Star Wars movie, as the franchise has moved mostly to Disney+.

22. This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

• Stream now on Netflix

The dramedy follows the Altman siblings as they go home for their father’s funeral, which causes them to fight and reconnect with each other. Driver plays the youngest troublemaker son, Philip, and is part of an extraordinary cast that also includes Jane Fonda. Shawn Levy’s film was meant to be a darkly funny retelling of the Altmans’ conflicts and aversion to each other – at least some of them. Despite the fantastic cast, however, critics left disappointed, giving the movie a 44% on Rotten Tomatoes.

21. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)

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This 2014 comedy fantasy by Terry Gilliam took 29 years to see the light of day. It stars Adam Driver as Toby, a director who, while trying to make a movie about Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Spain, finds himself meeting a man on a horse who thinks he’s actually Don Quixote. In typical Gilliam style, the movie is surrealist and weird but tells a magnificent story about the characters, where Driver’s Toby ends up perfectly embodying Sancho to Jonathan Pryce’s Don Quixote. The movie closed out the Cannes Film Festival, and while it was an awards contender, it received below-average reviews.

20. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

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The first movie of the Star Wars sequel trilogy introduces Adam Driver as villain Kylo Ren, and J.J. Abram's legacy sequel follows much of the same template as the original Star Wars from 1977. Still, it also introduces a strong new trio that's almost as charismatic as the original one. Driver's approach to Kylo Ren was a new take on a typical Star Wars villain, and a role that old-school fans initially disliked soon grew to be one of the most interesting and complex characters since the original trilogy. One of the most successful Adam Driver movies, it picked up five Oscar nominations and made over $2 billion worldwide (via The Numbers).

19. Silence (2016)

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Martin Scorsese's 2016 movie of two Jesuit priests traveling to 17th-century Japan to try and convert part of the population has riveting performances from Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver. Set in a country at a time when it banned Catholicism, the story is heavy and emotionally violent. It's an excellent piece of filmmaking with stellar work from Driver, but suffering is pervasive throughout the movie, and it's not necessarily one that can be watched again and again. Despite Scorsese's name and good critical reviews, the movie was a box office flop.

18. The Dead Don’t Die (2019)

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The 2019 Jim Jarmusch indie horror-comedy is the director's second movie with Adam Driver. The movie follows a seeming zombie invasion in a small town caused by the Earth’s axis slightly shifting. Although ending badly for the characters – as horror movies tend to do – Jim Jarmusch's movie is weirdly funny and peculiar, and emblematic of his quirky and unique style. It is sometimes slow, but it makes up for it when The Dead Don't Die breaks the fourth wall and doing so cleverly, captivates viewers. The movie received lackluster reviews but has become a cult classic.

17. Gayby (2012)

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This 2012 comedy by Jonathan Lisecki was Adam Driver's second movie, and it follows two best friends that want to have a child together, despite not being romantically linked. In a minor role, Driver has limited screen time, so it's hard to gauge it solely as an Adam Driver movie. However, the film is lighthearted, and it feels genuine, in the sense that rooting for their big extended family seems obvious and cannot be avoided. The movie went on to win the Best Queer Film at the Merlinka Festival.

16. Not Waving But Drowning (2012)

• Not available to stream

Devyn Waitt’s coming-of-age movie, named after the Stevie Smith poem, is the third overall of Adam Driver movies. While his time is limited, it shows him really coming into his own as a big screen presence and hints at Adam Driver being an Oscars contender for years to come. It tells the story of Adele and Sylvia, two best friends who long to move to New York, but only one manages to. The story is sad and beautiful, and the emotions the movie portrays are raw, with characters growing up in ways that are unexpected, but truly satisfying to watch.

15. Logan Lucky (2017)

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The 2017 Steven Soderbergh movie has everything a heist movie should have: relatable characters, clearly identifiable villains, a complex and brilliant plan, and unexpected plot twists. Driver plays one of the Logan siblings, Clyde, and he shines in the role. The cast works flawlessly together, and the action film manages to be fast and funny and adds a social commentary that is often lacking in movies of the genre, earning Logan Lucky great reviews at the time, sitting at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.

14. White Noise (2022)

• Stream now on Netflix

Adam Driver re-teamed with Noah Baumbach in 2022 for their fourth film together, the absurdist comedy White Noise. Unlike their previous collaboration, Marriage Story, this movie was a lot more light-hearted, despite being about an apocalyptic event. Driver is a professor of "Hitler studies" who takes his wife and their blended family on the run when an "airborne toxic event" forces an evacuation of their town. Based on the best-selling novel by Don DeLillo, the movie was a Netflix original but also received a limited theatrical run for awards season. The movie received average reviews but was a festival favorite.

13. Lincoln (2012)

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Lincoln, Steven Spielberg’s 2012 historical drama about the 16th President's fight to ban slavery in the United States starts slowly. Driver's role as Morse code expert Samuel Beckwith is minor compared to others in the film, but he has a riveting debate with Daniel Day-Lewis’s Lincoln in which Driver more than holds his own opposite the legendary movie star. The movie’s second half gets into the thick of things, showing one of the most heart-pounding and emotional voting scenes, and Day-Lewis’s portrayal of Lincoln dazzles. The movie picked up 12 Oscar nominations and won two of them.

12. While We’re Young (2014)

• Stream now on HBO Max

The 2014 Noah Baumbach movie While We're Young was the second collaboration between him and Adam Driver for a movie. The film's four protagonists are two couples, one older and one younger, where Driver plays one-half of the younger couple. What makes the movie peculiar is its essence, which is both about growing up and growing old and also about generational differences on what makes a specific type of art – in this case, documentary films – work well. Driver is best in character studies, and this is one of his best. At the time, it was Baumbach's most successful movie at the box office.

11. Frances Ha (2012)

• Stream now on Netflix & The Criterion Channel

Driver's first collaboration with Noah Baumbach sees him first as a love interest, then a friend of the main character, Frances (Greta Gerwig). The movie starts slow but develops into a beautiful story of friendship. Frances and Sophie's relationship is at the front and center of it. While at first, it seems that the story has no plot, what holds the movie together is how their friendship changes throughout the years, but always still there when it matters. The movie earned a Golden Globes nomination and has a high 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

10. The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected) (2017)

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Noah Baumbach’s 2017 comedy starts the family’s story with Adam Sandler’s Danny, but it then follows the whole family as they deal with their father’s old age and temperament. Driver is only seen in a few scenes, but he steals them all. The movie is bittersweet and realistic, well-written, and thoroughly planned. In the end, the wholesomeness of how all the Meyerowitz siblings resemble patriarch Howard throughout the movie is what really sells it. The movie was competing for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and won the Palm Dog Award.

9. What If (2013)

• Stream now on Showtime

Michael Dowse’s 2013 rom-com focuses on two friends who are attracted to each other but are already with other partners. Driver plays Allan, the best friend of protagonist Wallace (Daniel Radcliffe). The movie is surprisingly realistic, aptly portraying two people’s unwillingness to proclaim their feelings because it may ruin their friendship. Driver steals every scene he's in as the free-spirited and brash Allan, who is the wild card to Wallace's straight man. The movie won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Canadian Screen Awards.

8. The Report (2019)

• Stream now on Prime Video

The 2019 Scott Z. Burns thriller sees Driver portray Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones, who investigates the C.I.A.'s real-life use of torture in the War on Terror after the September 11 attacks. Driver is excellent in the role of the protagonist as he genuinely reflects the movie's tone: his private life is not debated, although his moral quandaries may be. Just as the BAFTAs winner Spotlight does, the film tells the story as a procedural investigation, through facts and findings, not expressively taking a side in the story it's telling. It may be fiction, but it does an excellent job of showing the proof. The movie was on the best of lists for several critics groups.

7. Tracks (2013)

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The John Curran biopic of Australian explorer Robyn Anderson has Driver in the role of photographer Rick Smolan. The relationship between Robyn (Crimson Peak’s Mia Wasikowska) and her black dog Diggity is beautiful. Meanwhile, Driver's work is, surprisingly, one of the most understated performances of all Adam Driver's movies. He's an actor known for eccentricities on screen, but here, he plays it straight, resulting in an interesting contrast to most of his filmography. The movie screened at several festivals in competition.

6. The Last Duel (2021)

• Stream now on HBO Max & Hulu

Ridley Scott’s first collaboration with Driver is one of the three Adam Driver movies released in 2021. The historical drama is a fictional retelling of the 1386 trial of Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) after Marguerite De Carrouges accuses him of rape. The same story is told from three different points of view between The Last Duel's three main characters: First Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon), then Driver's Le Gris, and finally Marguerite (Jodie Comer). Particular emphasis is put on Marguerite's version of events, which is presented as the truth. The movie failed at the box office but was one of the top 10 movies of the year according to the National Board of Review.

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

• Stream now on Disney+

The second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy is among the most controversial Star Wars movies, but Rian Johnson’s take on Jedis and the Force is something that was never seen before in the Star Wars universe. Johnson manages to portray all characters as morally grey, and it does so with nuance. Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s ending and character development are some of the most outstanding in the Skywalker Saga, and Kylo Ren's complexity, in particular, lends depth to the sequel trilogy. The movie picked up four Oscar nominations and is the second-highest-grossing Star Wars movie ever.

4. Paterson (2016)

• Stream now on Prime Video

Jim Jarmusch’s first collaboration with Driver finds the actor starring as a poet and bus driver named Paterson. Out of all Adam Driver's movies, this is certainly a slow burn, but all the relationships in it are expertly evolved and grow naturally as the movie moves forward. It's a love letter to poetry as a medium, and it manages to be sweet, gentle, and sometimes sad. Driver's quiet but commanding performance keeps one thinking of it after it's over. The movie competed for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and won the Palm Dog Award.

3. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

• Stream now on Showtime

At the intersection of sadness and beauty, the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis is Driver’s seventh movie, and he excels as the eccentric folk singer Al Cody. The film follows musician Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) on his quest to become a solo artist after his music partner takes his own life. The story is cyclical, heartbreaking, and beautifully told, and it’s impossible not to want happiness for the titular character. The movie received two Oscar nominations, including one for Isaac, and three Golden Globe nominations.

2. Marriage Story (2019)

• Stream now on Netflix

Baumbach and Driver's 2019 collaboration, Marriage Story, is one of several Adam Driver movies that garnered numerous awards nominations, and with good reason. The gripping film recounts how a couple (Scarlett Johansson and Driver) falls apart while learning to cooperate as they are still co-parenting a child. In these types of stories, it's common for the narration to take one side, but it doesn't happen in Marriage Story. Its balance makes the movie particularly heartbreaking, as their love ending causes so much hurt despite not being anybody's fault. The movie picked up six Oscar nominations, including one for Driver for Best Actor.

1. BlacKkKlansman

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Spike Lee’s 2018 historical movie is based on the memoir Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth, who, in the movie, is played by John David Washington. Stallworth’s operation to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan chapter also involves fellow detective, Adam Driver's Flip Zimmerman, who poses as him when Stallworth needs to meet the other members in person. BlacKkKlansman tops the podium for its amazing cast, sharing the balance of tension and humor seen in many other the best Adam Driver movies, earning him a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 2019 Oscars.