If youāre anything like meāAdam Driver, two-time Academy Award nominee, NBDāyouād better know how to tip!
Funny story: I was in the 2019 Broadway revival of Burn Thisāfor which I received a Tony nomination, NBDāand one night after rehearsal I was dining with my co-star Keri Russell (winner of the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television SeriesāDrama, NBD) at New Yorkās posh Eleven Madison Park (winner of seven James Beard Awards, NBD) when I noticed Keri had tipped the sommelier 25 dollars! Now, some might argue that a good somm can be tipped upward of $50-100, especially if theyāve recommended a well-suited vintage... but I disagree.
āHereās a fiver, courtesy of Adam Driver,ā I told him, slipping $5 to the sommelier. (BTW, this same somm recently stopped me on the street and had nothing but raves regarding my performance in Noah Baumbachās Marriage Storyāwhich, incidentally, was also praised by noted critic Matt Goldberg who called my work āastoundingā and āthe best performance of the year,ā NBD).
Another funny story: Just after I finished Girls (for which I received three consecutive Emmy nominations, NBD), I accepted a groundbreaking role in BlacKkKlansman. (Did I mention I got Oscar and Golden Globe noms for that? In any case, NBD) We filmed in Colorado Springs and stayed at the Garden of the Gods Resort & Club (a four-star hotel as determined by Yelp, NBD), and director Spike Lee (who won the Grand Prix at Cannes, NBD) wondered aloud how much he should tip the hotel concierge for not only picking up and delivering his dry cleaning but going back to the cleaners and demanding starch in his collars.
āCommon courtesy dictates tipping at least $20 for one trip to the cleaners,ā Spike noted, ābut two trips? Iām thinking $50-75.ā
āOr you could tell him youāre Adam Driver,ā I told him, āand tip him a fiver!ā
He thought that was funny. Iām not sure why. Iām Adam Driver, and I tip everyone a fiver.
In fact, once I told an Uber driver to wait for me outside the Hollywood mansion of Joaquin Phoenix (who just won the Screen Actors Guild Best Actor award for Joker, NBD) so I could quickly drop off a basket of bloody thornsāwhich I commissioned from conceptual artist Yayoi Kusama, at a cost of $1.2 million, NBDāand ended up making the driver wait 17 hours. (We were doing some stuff.) Long story short, I apologized profusely, and said, āFor being so patient, Iād like to tip you $500... but I canāt. Iām Adam Driver, so hereās a fiver.ā
Hereās my point: Itās easy to overthink gratuities! So the next time youāre wondering, āHow much should I tip my Christmas tree stylist or coffee enema barista?ā Donāt deprive her! Tip her a fiver. My nameās Adam Driver.