Hang around any Hollywood watercooler right now, and it seems the name you will hear is Adam Driver. Since appearing in an episode of The Unusuals in 2009, the former US Marine has rocketed to the top of the casting pile, via a regular role on HBO’s Girls – now in its third season – and parts in J. Edgar, Frances Ha, Lincoln and Inside Llewyn Davis. That momentum shows no sign of dissipating any time soon either as he is now set to join Martin Scorsese’s next project, Silence.
Based on the novel by Shusaku Endo, the story follows two Jesuit priests in 17th Century Japan, who witness the persecution of Japanese Christians at the hands of the government, after Catholicism and western influence are banned. With a screenplay by Jay Cocks (Gangs Of New York), and a cast list including Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Ken Watanabe (Inception), it seems Driver is continuing to make astute choices about future projects.
Though his name seems to have been variously associated, at one point or another, with every project currently in production – including Star Wars: Episode VII and Batman vs. Superman – his confirmed upcoming slate is impressive enough, with Shawn Levy’s This Is Where I Leave You, Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young and Jeff Nichols’ Midnight Special all already on the list for release over the next 24 months.
Silence has been in development for many years, but with Scorsese now at the helm, and casting decisions being made, the film is finally in pre-production with cameras expected to roll during summer 2014.