Adam Driver's Co-Star Clarifies Comments About Him Attacking Her: 'It Wasn't an Assault'

Adam Driver has been in the headlines this week after a report surfaced that he was accused of assaulting an elderly co-star on the set of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

The movie, directed by Terry Gilliam, played the festival circuit in 2018 and had a limited release in 2019. You can now watch it on demand or for free on the Crackle app.

Lidia Franco, who was 73 when the movie was filmed in 2017, talked about her experience on set in a recent interview. The interview was conducted in Portuguese and the English translation of her quotes have caused lots of confusion on social media.

In the initial interview, Lidia seemingly accused Adam of attacking her with a chair. She also claimed that he wouldn’t allow extras to look at him or be around him, which has been disputed by the film’s production company.

Click inside to read what Lidia Franco said to clarify her comments…

In a new statement to NiT, Lidia said that she was not assaulted and it was a “misunderstanding.” Her quotes have been translated to English by a Portuguese-speaking Twitter user, @yoonblivion.

Lidia said, “Our characters, in the movie The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, had to be physically close. I considered the actor’s behavior to be rude because, in the preparation of a scene, he didn’t take the care I believe he should have taken. Our characters had to be physically close and, every time he stood up with the force of the character to do the rest of the scene, the chair in which he was sitting would bump into me with some force, which bothered me.”

Lidia said that Adam repeated the same behavior, despite her being uncomfortable. She admits that in the original interview that went viral, she was “venting,” but “with no intention to bring any harm.”

“It wasn’t assault, nor did I ever feel or report that it was the intention of the actor. I am sorry for the misunderstanding,” she said.

Portuguese producer Ukbar Filmes said that no extras were fired from set. He said in a statement, ““During the shooting in Portugal, there were no dismissals or insults to the extras, only the request was made for them not to take pictures or interfere with the work of the American actor.”