Adam Driver: My journey from Marine to actor
Adam Driver: Mon voyage de Marine à acteur
Adam Driver is working to bridge the cultural gap between the United States Armed Forces and the performing arts communities by bringing the best modern American theater to the military. Full bioJesse J. Perez - Actor
Jesse J. Perez works as a guest director and teacher at Juilliard, and he has done numerous readings for Arts in the Armed Forces. Full bioMatt Johnson - Drummer
Matt Johnson has played on some of the most critically acclaimed records in almost everyone's collections. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
après le 11 septembre,
je me sentais empli
in the country did at the time,
of patriotism and retribution
et de rétribution,
que je ne faisais rien.
that I wasn't doing anything.
from high school that past summer,
je venais de terminer le lycée,
of my parents' house paying rent,
in Northern Indiana,
dans le nord de l'Indiana,
for people who are interested --
si ça vous intéresse --
le centre culturel du monde.
but cultural hub of the world it is not,
I did in high school
may she rest in peace.
paix à leur âme.
when I was a senior in high school,
quand j'étais en terminale,
je n'ai postulé nulle part.
and applied nowhere else,
LA acting odyssey
vers Los Angeles,
avec 7$ en poche
with, like, seven dollars
before my car broke down.
avant de tomber en panne.
the beach, basically,
selling vacuums ...
la vente d'aspirateurs...
4-H fairgrounds.
dans les fêtes foraines.
going into September, 2001.
jusqu'à septembre 2001.
in general -- at myself,
à moi-même,
not having a respectable job,
ni de bon emploi,
drove to California and back --
qui revenait de Californie --
I loved being a Marine.
J'ai adoré être un Marine !
of having done in my life.
dont je suis le plus fier.
des choses chères, c'était génial.
expensive things was great.
the Marine Corps the most
chez les Marines
for the least when I joined,
à laquelle je m'attendais,
a motley crew of characters
un groupe hétéroclite de personnages,
des États-Unis --
of the United States --
nothing in common with.
je n'avais rien en commun.
ont disparu
became synonymous with my friends.
mes véritables amis.
de mon déploiement en Irak,
in a mountain-biking accident,
au cours d'un accident de vélo
may find this hard to understand,
auront du mal à comprendre,
to Iraq or Afghanistan
déployé en Irak ou en Afghanistan
the base hospital on a stretcher
de l'hôpital de la base sur un brancard
outside to see if I was OK.
de savoir comment j'allais.
I was a civilian again.
acting another shot,
are small compared to the military.
étaient négligeables comparés à l'armée.
vous plaindre maintenant ?
bitch about now, you know?
on the air conditioner."
pour un café. »
les poubelles de Panera Bread.
and dumpster-dive behind Panera Bread.
and this time I was lucky,
j'ai eu de la chance
by how complex the transition was
la complexité de la transition
imagine going through that process
je ne peux imaginer vivre cela
to voice and speech class,
les cours d'art dramatique,
at the back of the room,
au fond d'une pièce,
de me donner naissance --
where I gave birth to myself --
sans moi à l'étranger.
without me overseas.
comment appliquer
know how to apply the things
to a civilian context.
à ma vie de civil,
et émotionnelle.
and emotionally.
et du mortier.
and firing mortars.
put those skills in the civilian world.
ces compétences dans le monde civil.
is either steeped in tradition
tient de la tradition
to give away your position.
you have to maintain
pour maintenir
vous honorez
who went before you.
because of this.
pour une raison.
those rules spoke volumes
vous suiviez ces règles
about your history
to prove my worth all over again.
constamment prouver ma valeur.
quand j'étais en uniforme
while I was in uniform
I felt this sense of community.
il y avait une communauté.
combien de fois
de vie ou de mort avec vos amis
with your closest friends
that they're not going to abandon you?
qu'ils ne vous abandonneront pas ?
and characters and plays
et des pièces
my military experience
mon expérience militaire
to me was indescribable.
sur l'indescriptible.
je mettais des mots sur mes sentiments
to feelings for the first time
a valuable tool that was.
on my time in the military,
passé dans l'armée,
on the stereotypical drills
aux entraînements stéréotypés,
intimate human moments,
intimes et humains,
car leur famille leur manquait,
because they missed their families,
faire la fête ensemble,
contre ces circonstances
these circumstances,
que cela créait en nous,
it produced in them and me,
our feelings about it.
d'exprimer nos sentiments.
are actually very similar.
sont très similaires :
trying to accomplish a mission
essayant d'accomplir une mission
it's not about you.
au sein de l'équipe.
your role within that team.
parfois pas.
sometimes they're not.
with complete strangers
avec des inconnus
to create a space
de créer un espace
a priori très différentes,
dissimilar communities,
to a group of people
a bit more thought-provoking
"volun-told" to go to in the military --
sont « volon-tatoires » dans l'armée --
mais un peu choquants,
offensive events,
Chargers Cheerleader,"
avec une pom-pom girl »
about pop culture,
around the parade deck
surveillée dans la base
pregnant cheerleader --
déjà mariée et enceinte --
je les adore.
I love cheerleaders.
be to have theater presented
de plutôt présenter du théâtre
without being condescending.
sans être condescendants.
called Arts in the Armed Forces,
Arts in the Armed Forces.
a priori très différentes.
dissimilar communities.
de pièces américaines contemporaines
from contemporary American plays
et de race, comme le public militaire,
like a military audience is,
theater-trained actors,
fantastiques comédiens,
as minimal as possible --
de lumières, juste de la lecture --
no lights, just reading it --
be created at any setting.
peut être joué n'importe où.
est un outil aussi précieux
is just as valuable a tool
des acronymes pour des acronymes,
acronyms for acronyms,
une expérience collective.
a collective experience.
the United States and the world,
les États-Unis et le monde,
dans le Maryland,
to Camp Arifjan in Kuwait,
au Camp Arifjan au Koweït,
have had exposure to.
that acting is many things.
est nombre de choses.
it's a business, it's --
un commerce, c'est --
is most applicable to you.
l'armée -- à nouveau, pour moi,
the military, for me, again --
from Marco Ramirez,
de Marco Ramirez :
and good friend of mine, Jesse Perez,
Jesse Perez,
who I just met a couple hours ago.
que je viens de rencontrer.
for the first time,
like mad, radioactive red.
d'un rouge fou, radioactif.
you can maybe see the moon
vous pourriez voir la lune
et de gaz d'avions
and airplane exhaust
bloquant les anges.
that won't let the angels in.
sur le bord d'un immeuble de 87 étages.
on the edge of an 87-story building.
and broken clock towers
et les clochers endommagés
for maybe like 100 years,
depuis 100 ans,
ou une sortie de secours,
de Danny disparaissent.
mais qui a un trou près des fesses
but has that hole on it near the butt
on the chain-link fence behind Arturo's
à la clôture derrière Arturo
car je replie ce morceau-là
because I tuck that part in
and whips Batman for talkin' back.
pour battre Batman quand il répond.
from the Eastern Taxi Company
de l'Eastern Taxi Company
(Double beat)
(Batterie)
to do is save people
c'est sauver les gens,
car elle est super longue,
cause it's frickin' long
la moitié de mon visage,
my face is on, too,
pour que personne ne me blesse.
all in my chest so no one can hurt me.
(Laughter)
(Rires)
Styrofoam leftovers up out of a trash can
du Styrofoam dans une poubelle
of sesame chicken someone spit out
un morceau de poulet au sésame
une coupe déjantée et une blouse noire
with a wack haircut in a black lab coat
all extinct for real one day.
on 40-ounce bottles of twist-off beer,
de son salaire en bière
dans la maison d'une femme âgée
to some lady's house
have all been shot out
ont été cassées
what they do in this city in the dark.
agir dans l'obscurité.
who don't know no better,
qui sont dépassés
with rusted bicycle chains
avec des chaînes de vélo
in their arms start burning,
leurs bras les brûlent,
brand macaroni and cheese
achetés tout prêts
I don't exist.
que je n'existe pas.
one of the good-for-nothings say,
j'entends un de ces bons-à-rien dire :
-- très vite,
in drunk language and turn pale,
dans une langue d'ivrogne et blêmir,
to hurl its way out his Dickies.
essayer de sortir de ses vêtements.
je dis : « Wouuu ! »
at the one naked lightbulb.
à une ampoule nue.
« Wahou, merde !
"What?"
« Quoi ? »
No, really -- there ain't no bat!"
Vraiment -- y a pas de chauve-souris ! »
gets it to the head -- pow!
s'en prend un dans la tête -- pan !
into the dark cape before him,
la cape noire face à lui,
back with the jump kick,
avec un coup de pied sauté
so I'm like --
le judo karaté alors --
nous entendons un « clic-clic ».
to blow a hole in the moon.
de faire un trou dans la lune.
who got it to the head,
en pleine tête,
who got it in the gut,
from the dark figure before 'em.
le personnage noir face à eux.
praying to Saint Anthony
priant Saint-Antoine
he could remember.
in a Morse code for:
et disant en morse :
left standing,
between my pointy ears,
mes deux oreilles pointues,
il est de l'unité spéciale.
calling Saint Anthony,
Cou ! Entaille !
"Ahhhhhhh!"
« Ahhhhhh ! »
'cause I'm Batman.
je les hais car je suis Batman.
got iced by guns a long time ago.
ont été abattus il y a longtemps.
become good-for-disappearing
deviennent bons-à-disparaître
sludge shithole they crawled out of.
cette boue chimique d'où ils viennent.
off his forehead.
bon marché sur son front.
by his janitor-man shirt collar,
de portier,
but the cape helps,
mais ma cape m'aide
straight in the eyes.
je le regarde dans les yeux.
every 10 feet.
tous les 3 mètres.
to building on his way there
le long de sa route
as he pulls out his key chain
alors qu'il sort ses clés
through the front door.
of warm tap water.
as they get to my room.
de ma chambre.
like, mad-slow.
of sidewalks in summer.
des trottoirs en été.
but not with sweat.
mais pas de sueur.
de mes yeux brillants,
de ma poitrine pare-balles,
my window just a crack.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Adam Driver - Actor and Marine Corps veteranAdam Driver is working to bridge the cultural gap between the United States Armed Forces and the performing arts communities by bringing the best modern American theater to the military.
Why you should listen
Before he was an actor, Adam Driver was a Marine with the 1/1 Weapons Company at Camp Pendleton, California. After the Marines, he attended Juilliard and went on to star in films like Star Wars: Episode VII, While We're Young, Midnight Special and on HBO's "Girls." His performance in "Girls" has garnered him three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and he won the Volpi Cup Award for Best Actor for Hungry Hearts, which premiered at the 2014 Venice International Film Festival.
Driver co-founded Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF), a nonprofit that that honors, educates, inspires and entertains active duty and veteran members of the United States Armed Forces and their families by engaging them in the power and social service of the performing arts. The organization enlists artists of the highest quality and chooses thought-provoking content with an eye to what might speak to this particular audience.
Adam Driver | Speaker | TED.com
Jesse J. Perez - Actor
Jesse J. Perez works as a guest director and teacher at Juilliard, and he has done numerous readings for Arts in the Armed Forces.
Why you should listen
Jesse J. Perez has starred in numerous off-Broadway performances including "Informed Consent," "Up Against the Wind and Triple Happiness." He has also worked at The Chekhov Project: Lake Lucille as a choreographer and done numerous readings for Arts in the Armed Forces.
Jesse J. Perez | Speaker | TED.com
Matt Johnson - Drummer
Matt Johnson has played on some of the most critically acclaimed records in almost everyone's collections.
Why you should listen
Matt Johnson | Speaker | TED.com