Martin Scorsese Names His Pick for One of the Very Best Actors

To receive a compliment from Martin Scorsese is a rare and prestigious honor, especially when the director is so effusive in his admiration. Among the few modern icons to earn the Scorsese seal of approval is Adam Driver, who collaborated with the legendary filmmaker on the 2016 historical drama Silence.

Scorsese has been vocal about his respect for Driver’s dedication, stating in 2022 that he was deeply moved by the perseverance and the beauty of the performance delivered by the actor.

The director went as far as to describe him as having a marvellous screen presence, even suggesting he may be the finest actor of his current generation. However, Driver is not the only performer to catch the director’s eye, as Scorsese frequently looks to the past to find inspiration in the industry’s greatest talents.

One such figure who remains a personal favorite of his is the American actor Robert Ryan, a star of the mid-20th century who appeared in classics like The Wild Bunch and Bad Day at Black Rock.

Scorsese has described Ryan as one of the most significant presences in American cinema history, praising his unique physical acting and expressive voice. He noted that Ryan possessed a rare ability to portray characters who were coming unhinged, a specialty that made his performances both frightening and deeply human.

According to the director, Ryan’s talent lay in his profound understanding of how hurt and masculine pride could intersect to create a dangerous and volatile personality. Despite being widely considered an undervalued figure in film history, Scorsese has argued that it is more accurate to categorize Ryan as a great artist rather than just an actor.

While Robert Ryan’s legacy is preserved in the archives of classic film, Adam Driver continues to cement his own status as a modern “artist” with a busy schedule. He recently starred in the Jim Jarmusch triptych Father Mother Sister Brother, which earned the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

In the film, Driver appears in the first chapter alongside Mayim Bialik and Tom Waits, playing an adult son visiting his estranged father. This marks his third collaboration with Jarmusch, following their successful pairings in Paterson and The Dead Don’t Die.

Driver has also just wrapped filming on the war drama Alone at Dawn, directed by Ron Howard and co-starring Anne Hathaway. In this true-life story, he portrays Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman, a role that is particularly meaningful given Driver’s own history as a former member of the United States Marine Corps.

Whether he is navigating the experimental world of Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis or preparing for intense military dramas, Driver remains a director’s actor at his core. His commitment to working with the masters of the craft suggests that the high praise he received from Scorsese was only the beginning of a storied legacy.

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