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20 Interesting Facts You Didn't Know About Adam Driver

Lisa Waugh
Updated September 24, 2021 278.9K views 20 items

Adam Driver was on track for success even before playing Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. His intensity and purposeful choice in roles had him playing Adam Sackler on Girls, Louis Ironson in Angels in America on Broadway, Phillip Altman in This is Where I Leave You, and Al Cody in the Coen brothers Inside Llewyn Davis. But there are all kinds of interesting Adam Driver facts only the die hard fans know - ones that illuminate this brooding star.

A close inspection of the Adam Driver bio might change your mind about the tall, non-traditional actor. From his obsessiveness about his work to how many eggs he can eat in one day, his openness and honesty about all aspects of himself and his career, his determination to share the techniques of the theater with combat vets, and his way of spinning serious things into comedic moments… these all make Driver his own force.

  • He's Just as Surprised as You Are That He's a Sex Symbol

    He's Just as Surprised as You Are That He's a Sex Symbol

    The awkward and realistic sex on Girls probably started the notion that Driver is some kind of new idea of a sex symbol. And surprising for Driver himself. “I’m like a sight gag. I have this really big face.” That hasn’t stopped the fashion world from pursuing him for spreads and covers. He’s even been photographed by legendary Annie Leibovitz.

    For those who think he’s not that attractive, he feels you. In 2013 he said, “I don’t totally get it. I mean, when I read for Girls, I was, like, the script says ‘Handsome Carpenter,’ so someone else is going to get the part. They’ll have someone handsome, not me. I mean, I’m not in any danger of getting leading-man parts."

  • He Started a Fight Club in High School

    Driver’s rules were more realistic and less poetic than Chuck Palahniuk’s. ”No hitting in the balls, a good rule.” But the reasons for fighting were the same as in the David Fincher film. ”There was a guy that rode by on a bike one time. He said, 'What are you guys doing?' So I fought him."

    And instead of a dank basement, Driver’s Fight Club was an open air affair. ”They had a big grassy field behind f*ckin' Celebrations Unlimited, an event space that people rent out to get married or whatever, and we would go out there in the middle of the night and beat the sh*t out of our neighbors."

  • He Got a Style and Grooming Intervention from His Wife

    He Got a Style and Grooming Intervention from His Wife
    He met Joanne Tucker at Juilliard. They may share a love of acting and run a non-profit together, but Tucker was the more evolved one when it came to style and grooming. "I just kept dressing like a 15-year-old until my wife was basically like, 'You know, you should wear long pants now. Maybe shorts are good for some people, but not you. And maybe you should get your toe looked at, 'cause, you know, it looks like a turtle shell.'"

  • He Joined the Marines After 9/11

    The September 11 attacks wound up Driver and his friends. "I was having an argument with my stepfather, and he was like, 'Why don't you join the Marine Corps?' And I was like, 'Noooo! Well, maybe, actually…’ I went and saw the recruiter, who was like, 'Are you on the run from the cops? Because we've never had someone want to leave so fast.'" Driver was on a mission. ‘I was like, 'I'm going to be a man.’”

    Driver trained at Camp Pendleton and easily slipped into into life as new Marine. "I never played sports or got into the whole guy camaraderie of, like, 'I love you, man! Seniors forever!' So suddenly being in the military with these guys who were under these very heightened circumstances, isolated from their families, living this very kind of Greek lifestyle, it changed my life in a really big way. I really, really loved it, actually."  

    Driver wasn’t be able to deploy due to a mountain bike accident where he broke his sternum.

  • His Non-Profit, Arts in the Armed Forces, Brings Theater to the Troops

    His Non-Profit, Arts in the Armed Forces, Brings Theater to the Troops

    Driver and his wife, Joanne, created a non-profit that brings theater productions to the military. Driver also has a unique perspective in how acting and the arts can help direct a veteran’s energy and focus. ”Something I learned in the Marine Corps that I’ve applied to acting is, one, taking direction, and then working with a group of people to accomplish a mission and knowing your role within that team," Driver said.  

    Driver wanted to add other opportunities to the programs and entertainment vets and active military were offered. "I could watch cheerleaders all day long," he told GQ. "But I felt like the military could handle something a little more thought-provoking."

  • He Made His Juilliard Classmates Cry; Confused His Marine Buddies

    He Made His Juilliard Classmates Cry; Confused His Marine Buddies

    “Intense” is putting it mildly for Driver’s time at Juilliard. He was viewed as odd and aggressive. "I think he thought other people weren’t as committed," says Richard Feldman, a professor at Juilliard. Driver would run from his apartment in Queens to the Juilliard campus in Manhattan to stay fit and to adhere to some inner code of discipline. He’d binge-watch classic movies or read play after play at the library. He was trying to make up for lost time from his sheltered, religious upbringing. In class, when doing scene study or performing, Driver was hardcore. ”I made a lot of people cry.”   

    The time at Juilliard made him an odd duck to his Marine buddies. "We all got together in Texas; a friend of ours had passed away," Driver said. "And I was trying to explain to them what I was doing at Juilliard. And I’m like, ’Yeah, we wear pajamas, and we talk about our inner colors, and there was this exercise where we all gave birth to ourselves...’ And they’re like, ’What the f*ck are you doing?’"