James Austin Johnson on Imitating Adam Driver to His Face: “I Never Saw Him Laugh”

The SNL star recalls a nerve-racking moment performing his impression of the actor in front of him.

Suhasini Oswal
Written by Suhasini Oswal , Entertainment Journalist
Published on Feb 01, 2025 | 01:38 PM IST | 40.8K
Adam Driver (PC: YouTube/Rotten Tomatoes Trailers)
Adam Driver (PC: YouTube/Rotten Tomatoes Trailers)

James Austin Johnson, known for his spot-on impressions on Saturday Night Live, recently shared what it was like to perform his Adam Driver impersonation in front of the actor himself—and it wasn’t exactly a warm reception.

In an interview with GQ published Friday, Johnson admitted he was both excited and anxious to impersonate Driver, calling him one of his favorite actors. While he loves portraying the Star Wars and Marriage Story star, doing it with Driver in the room was a different challenge altogether.

“Doing Adam Driver to Adam Driver. Pretty nerve-racking,” Johnson said. “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. But impressions are kind of demeaning just as a concept.”

Adding to the pressure, Johnson described Driver as both physically imposing and artistically intimidating.

“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,” Johnson said.

The actor’s demeanor didn’t make things any easier. “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,” Johnson recalled.

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He suggested that Driver, despite his sense of humor, wasn’t used to people directly making fun of him. “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 tense moment, Johnson did get some reassurance afterward—sort of. “I never saw him laugh, but he told me he thought it was funny,” Johnson said. “I’m going to take him at his word.” While Johnson may never know for sure if Driver truly enjoyed the impression, he’s choosing to believe the actor’s words—because sometimes, in comedy, that’s all you can do.

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About The Author
Suhasini Oswal
Suhasini Oswal
Entertainment Journalist

Suhasini is a budding writer with two years of experience under her belt. She has a passion for

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