Andy Kaufman, the beloved comedian who played Latka Gravas on Taxi from 1978 to 1983, felt confined and creatively stifled by the role, according to a new documentary.

"He wasn't overjoyed doing Taxi because it was confinement to him," Cindy Williams is heard explaining in the documentary. "He was restricted by, you know, lines that people had written for him. And Andy, he was his own creator."

In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE ahead of the film's Tribeca Film Festival debut, Kaufman can be heard talking about his rising star status.

"This year has been a very commercial year for me. And I've been doing a lot of compromise, and it's been good, very commercial. But artistically, I felt down about it lately," he says. "This is my act, and I just want to start having some integrity within myself again. This is my playground. That's what it should be, my playground. And it just has to be that, or else I'm not happy. Then, I'm just like every other performer."

Director Clay Tweel tells PEOPLE that fans of the hit sitcom who only saw Kaufman as Latka missed a whole other side of the comedian.

"I think a lot of what Taxi fans might have missed was just how confrontational Andy was in all of his other performances beyond that TV show. Even his more lighthearted and sweeter moments on stage were engaging the audience in a way that bordered on uncomfortable because you were always wondering what was real and what was just for show," Tweel says.

Kaufman's beloved foreign character, perfected before it came to the Taxi audience, was what drew producers of the show to him. He took a chance on the role, and while it was a smash hit with audiences, as a creative, the comedian found himself frustrated.

Kaufman's documentary, Andy Kaufman is Me, directed by Clay Tweel, examines Kaufman's personal archive, with many never-before-seen photos and audio recordings.

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Andy Kaufman Is Me premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival Friday, June 6>

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