Adam Driver

Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is an American actor, recognized for his collaborations with auteur filmmakers. Driver made his film debut in ''J. Edgar'' (2011) and played supporting roles in '' Lincoln'' (2012), '' Frances Ha'' (2012), '' Inside Llewyn Davis'' (2013) and '' While We're Young'' (2014) before gaining wider recognition for his portrayal of Kylo Ren in the ''Star Wars'' sequel trilogy (2015–2019).

He won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for a leading role in '' Hungry Hearts'' (2014) and received consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor for playing a Jewish police officer infiltrating the KKK in ''BlacKkKlansman'' (2018) and Best Actor for his role as a theater director going through a divorce in '' Marriage Story'' (2019). Driver garnered further acclaim for portraying the titular character in '' Paterson'' (2016), Father Francisco Garupe in ''Silence'' (2016), Jacques le Gris in '' The Last Duel'' (2021), and Enzo Ferrari in ''Ferrari'' (2023). He has also acted in films such as '' Logan Lucky'' (2017), '' The Report'' (2019), '' Annette'' (2021), '' House of Gucci'' (2021), and ''Megalopolis'' (2024).

His breakout performance was as an emotionally unstable actor in the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which he received three consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations. On stage, Driver made his Broadway debut in '' Mrs. Warren's Profession'' (2010) and subsequently acted in '' Man and Boy'' (2011) and ''Burn This'' (2019), the later of which earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Driver is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He also was the founder of Arts in the Armed Forces, a non-profit that provided free arts programming to American active-duty service members, veterans, military support staff, and their families worldwide.

Early life

Driver was born in Fontana, California, on November 19, 1983. He is the son of Nancy Wright (née Needham), a paralegal, and Joe Douglas Driver. His father's family is from Arkansas, and his mother's family is from Indiana. His family moved to San Diego, where Driver spent time with them until he was seven years old. After his parents were divorced, Driver and his mother moved to Mishawaka, Indiana, where he was primarily raised by his stepfather, Rodney G. Wright, a Baptist minister. Driver graduated from Mishawaka High School in 2001, while spending time with his older sister and mother at their hometown. Driver was raised Baptist, and sang in the choir at church.

Driver has described his teenage self as a "misfit"; he told '' M Magazine'' that he climbed radio towers, set objects on fire, and co-founded a fight club with friends, inspired by the 1999 film ''Fight Club''. Throughout high school, he was active in choir and theater, participating in school productions of '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', ''Into the Woods'', and ''Guys and Dolls''. He applied to Juilliard School for drama knowing that they would not look at his grades from high school, but was not accepted. After high school, he worked as a door-to-door salesman selling Kirby vacuum cleaners and as a telemarketer for a basement waterproofing company and Ben Franklin Construction.

When Driver was eighteen, he attempted to start his acting career in Los Angeles, leaving Indiana by car and breaking down in Amarillo, Texas. He spent his money repairing his car only to make it to Santa Monica, where he lived in a hostel for two days and was scammed by a real estate agent he paid to find him an apartment. He realized he did not have enough money to live, returning to Indiana after only a week away from home.

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Driver enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines as an 81mm mortar man. He served for two years and eight months, before fracturing his sternum while mountain biking. He was medically discharged with the rank of Lance Corporal.

Subsequently, Driver attended the University of Indianapolis for a year before auditioning again for Juilliard, this time succeeding. He got the news he was accepted while at work at the Target Distribution Center in Indianapolis. Driver has said that his classmates saw him as an intimidating and volatile figure, and he struggled to fit into a lifestyle so different from the Marines. He was a member of the Drama Division's ''Group 38'' from 2005 to 2009, where he met his future wife, Joanne Tucker. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009.

Career

2009–2014: Early work

After graduating from Juilliard, Driver moved to New York City, appearing in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Like many aspiring actors, he occasionally worked as a busboy and waiter. Driver appeared in several television series and short films. He played a repentant witness and reluctant accomplice to an unsolved assault in the final episode of the television series ''The Unusuals''. He made his film debut in Clint Eastwood's biographical film ''J. Edgar''.

In 2012, Driver starred in the HBO comedy-drama series '' Girls'', as the emotionally unstable boyfriend of a writer (Lena Dunham). He received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role. Driver played telegraph and cipher officer Samuel Beckwith in Steven Spielberg's historical drama '' Lincoln'', and Lev Shapiro in Noah Baumbach's comedy-drama '' Frances Ha''. He starred in the drama '' Not Waving But Drowning'' and the romantic-comedy '' Gayby''. He garnered major off-Broadway recognition for playing Cliff, a working-class Welsh houseguest in '' Look Back in Anger,'' and won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play.

In 2013, Driver appeared in the drama '' Bluebird'' and the romantic-comedy ''What If''. He played a musician in the Coen Brothers' black comedy '' Inside Llewyn Davis'', and photographer Rick Smolan in the drama '' Tracks''. In 2014, he played a despairing father in the drama '' Hungry Hearts'', an aspiring filmmaker in Noah Baumbach's comedy '' While We're Young'', and the black sheep of a dysfunctional Jewish family in the comedy-drama '' This Is Where I Leave You''. For his performance in ''Hungry Hearts'', Driver won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. For '' Vogue''s September 2013 issue, Driver appeared alongside Canadian model Daria Werbowy set in Ireland, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

2015–2019: Worldwide recognition

In early 2014, Driver was cast as villain Kylo Ren in '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' (2015). It was released on December 18, 2015, to commercial and critical success. He reprised the role in '' The Last Jedi'' (2017) and '' The Rise of Skywalker'' (2019). His performance was positively received; David Edelstein of ''Vulture'' wrote, "the core of ''The Last Jedi'' — of this whole trilogy, it seems — is Driver's Kylo Ren, who ranks with cinema's most fascinating human monsters." Peter Bradshaw of ''The Guardian'' highlighted Driver's performance in his review of ''The Force Awakens'', calling him "gorgeously cruel, spiteful and capricious... very suited to Kylo Ren's fastidious and amused contempt for his enemies' weakness and compassion."

Driver had a supporting role in Jeff Nichols' science fiction film '' Midnight Special'', which was released on March 18, 2016. He played a 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit priest in Martin Scorsese's historical film ''Silence'' (2016). While filming, Driver lost almost 50 pounds. In Jim Jarmusch's drama film '' Paterson'', Driver played the eponymous bus driver and poetry writer. It premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival and was released on December 28, 2016. Driver's performance was acclaimed and he received multiple nominations for Best Actor from critics' associations, winning several, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor. Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote "Driver's indelibly moving portrayal is so lived-in and lyrical you hardly recognize it as acting." ''Paterson'' was included in many critics' top ten lists of best films of 2016.

In 2017, Driver made a cameo in Noah Baumbach's '' The Meyerowitz Stories'', making his third appearance in one of their films. It premiered at the 70th Cannes Film Festival and was released on October 13, 2017. He played Clyde, a one-armed Iraq War veteran, in Steven Soderbergh's '' Logan Lucky'', which was released on August 18, 2017. Driver played a Jewish police detective, who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan in Spike Lee's comedy-drama ''BlacKkKlansman''. It premiered at 71st Cannes Film Festival and was released on August 10, 2018. He received critical acclaim for his performance in the film and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Driver played Toby Grummett in Terry Gilliam's adventure-comedy film ''The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'' (2018), which also premiered at Cannes.

In 2019, Driver played Daniel J. Jones in Scott Z. Burns' political drama '' The Report'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. That same year, Driver returned to Broadway to play Pale against Keri Russell in Michael Mayer's directed 2019 production of Lanford Wilson's ''Burn This'', receiving acclaim for his explosive performance and a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He was part of the ensemble cast for Jim Jarmusch's zombie film '' The Dead Don't Die'', which premiered at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and was released on June 14, 2019. That same year, Driver starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in Noah Baumbach's '' Marriage Story'', which premiered at the 76th Venice International Film Festival. Reviewing the film in ''The Hollywood Reporter'', critic Jon Frosch noted that Driver "delivers a brilliantly inhabited and shaded portrait" of a man undergoing a divorce. For his performance, he received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.

2020–present

On January 25, 2020, Driver returned to host ''Saturday Night Live'' for the third time with musical guest Halsey. In 2020, Driver became the subject of a running gag on ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'', in which Oliver expressed several strange masochistic fantasies about Driver, referencing his muscular build and masculine appearance. Driver eventually appeared on the final episode of the season and "demanded an apology". In 2021, he went viral for his shirtless appearance in the advertising campaign for Burberry's masculine fragrance Hero. Driver again returned for the advertising campaign for the eau de parfum concentration of Hero in 2022.

In 2021, Driver starred in Leos Carax's musical film '' Annette'', which premiered at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. He had a leading role in Ridley Scott's historical drama '' The Last Duel'', along with the biopic crime film '' House of Gucci'', which covers the assassination of Maurizio Gucci, and was also directed by Scott. Equally praised by critics and directors, Driver's acting has a unique signature style that displays skittish, unpredictable physicality with full-bodied enthusiasm like Denis Lavant and Buster Keaton.

In 2022, Driver starred in the apocalyptic black comedy film ''White Noise'', which marks his fifth collaboration with Baumbach. Driver starred in the science fiction film '' 65'' and is scheduled to star in Jeff Nichols' historical film ''Yankee Commandante''. Driver played Enzo Ferrari in Michael Mann's biopic film ''Ferrari''. In May 2023, it was announced that Driver would be an honorary starter for the 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race. On December 9, 2023, Driver hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' for the fourth time with musical guest Olivia Rodrigo.

Driver starred in Francis Ford Coppola's allegorical epic ''Megalopolis'' (2024). The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or and polarized critics. In 2024, it was announced that Driver would return to the off Broadway stage playing fictional country music star Strings McCrane in the Kenneth Lonergan play '' Hold On to Me Darling'' at the Lucille Lortel Theater with performances starting in September. Driver's performance received critical acclaim with Robert Hoffer for '' The Wrap'', considering McCrane to be the best role for Driver.

In June 2024, he was cast in the upcoming comedy film '' Carnival: At the End of Days''.

Personal life

Driver married his long-time girlfriend Joanne Tucker in June 2013, whom he met while attending Juilliard. Tucker is the granddaughter of Bermudian politician Henry Tucker. The couple have a son, born in 2016, whose birth they kept private from the press for two years. Tucker gave birth to a second child, a girl, in early 2023. They live in Brooklyn Heights with their children and dog. Driver is the founder of Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF), a nonprofit that performs theater for all branches of the military in the United States and abroad.

Driver has said on multiple occasions that he dislikes watching or listening to his own performances, and chose not to continue with a radio interview with NPR's ''Fresh Air'' after the host played a clip from ''Marriage Story''. He has said that his usual technique is to leave the theater and "then I go back and, when the lights come up, I stand up. I pretend that I was there the whole time."

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theater

Video games

Theme park attractions

Awards and nominations

For his work on television, Driver has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He received three nominations for his performance in '' Girls'', from 2013, 2014 and 2015, in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category. In 2020, he also received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his guest hosting role on ''Saturday Night Live''. For his work in films, he has been nominated twice for an Academy Award, for his performances in ''BlacKkKlansman'' (2018) and '' Marriage Story'' (2019). He also received British Academy Film Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG) nominations for those films as well. He also received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture as a part of the ensemble of Steven Spielberg's '' Lincoln''. In 2019, he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in ''Burn This'' at the 73rd Tony Awards.

References

External links

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Adam Driver: Theatre Credits
on Broadwayworld.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driver, Adam
1983 births
21st-century American male actors
Actors from San Diego
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Best Actor AACTA International Award winners
Juilliard School alumni
Living people
Male actors from California
Male actors from Indiana
People from Brooklyn Heights
People from Mishawaka, Indiana
United States Marines
University of Indianapolis alumni
Volpi Cup for Best Actor winners