Adam Driver won’t take pictures with ‘Star Wars’ fans to raise money for his Arts in the Armed Forces charity.
The 34-year-old actor has admitted the nonprofit organisation known as AITAF – which he started a decade ago after pursuing a career in acting following two years and eight months in the United States Marine Corps – would "be doing even better" in terms of profit if he wasn’t at the helm, because there’s so many things he won’t do to raise money, including appearing in selfies.
He said: "In terms of this nonprofit, we could probably be doing even better financially if I wasn’t one of the people at the head because I’m so unwilling to do so many things – or talk to people in general.
"It’s not about me and ‘Star Wars’. It’s about the people that we’re trying to serve. And if you don’t get that, then I’d rather not be associated with your money."
Adam – who plays Kylo Ren in the sci-fi franchise – won’t take money in exchange for photographs, because he doesn’t want the charity to turn into ‘Star Wars’ events, and wishes more people were generous "for the sake of it", rather than for their own benefit.
He added: "I didn’t used to feel comfortable fundraising. Like, ‘Yeah we’re interested in your mission but could you take a picture with my daughter? She’s a big ‘Star Wars’ fan and if you do that I’ll give you $100,000.’ No, I’m not going to take it. Is there nobody that is just philanthropic for the sake of it? Is there always some picture with your kid? I don’t want AITAF things to turn into ‘Star Wars’ events. But then you say, ‘No,’ and you’ve pissed somebody off. I don’t know that I ever handled that badly; I just took it too personally."
Although the star admits he’s now becoming "more comfortable" with the idea of fundraising, he says he still turns people away for some requests, as he says sometimes it "can feel disgusting".
Speaking to Vulture, he said: "It has to be the right thing or it can feel disgusting. Some people are good with being like, ‘It feels uncomfortable, but imagine what you can do with that money.’ So, I’m starting to get more comfortable with that idea because we’re raising money not only for a military nonprofit, but a performing arts nonprofit. It’s difficult. We’re not saying, ‘Give us $100 and it’ll go towards $100 of art.’ We’re giving something that you can’t quantify."
Adam Driver won’t take selfies for charity
