Adam Driver facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adam Driver
Driver in 2023
Born	Adam Douglas Driver (1983-11-19) November 19, 1983 (age 41) Fontana, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Juilliard School (BFA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2009–present
Spouse(s)	Joanne Tucker ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	2
Awards	Full list
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Marine Corps
Rank	Lance Corporal

Adam Douglas Driver (born November 19, 1983) is a famous American actor. He first became well-known for his role in the TV show Girls from 2012 to 2017. He played Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel movies (2015–2019), which made him a worldwide star.

Adam Driver has won awards for his acting. He received nominations for the Academy Award for his roles in BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Marriage Story (2019). He has also performed on stage, including on Broadway, and was nominated for a Tony Award. Before becoming an actor, Driver served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He also started a group called Arts in the Armed Forces, which brings free arts programs to military members and their families.

Early Life and Military Service

Adam Driver was born in Fontana, California, on November 19, 1983. His family moved to San Diego when he was young. After his parents divorced, he and his mother moved to Mishawaka, Indiana. He was mostly raised by his stepfather, who was a Baptist minister. Driver graduated from Mishawaka High School in 2001. He sang in the church choir and enjoyed theater in high school.

As a teenager, Driver described himself as a "misfit." He once told a magazine that he climbed radio towers and started a "fight club" with friends. This was a group of friends who would play-fight, inspired by a movie. He tried to get into the Juilliard School for drama but was not accepted at first. After high school, he worked different jobs, like selling vacuum cleaners.

When he was 18, Driver tried to start his acting career in Los Angeles. He drove from Indiana but ran into car trouble in Amarillo, Texas. He spent all his money on repairs and only made it to Santa Monica. He quickly realized he didn't have enough money to live there and went back home to Indiana.

Soon after the September 11 attacks, Driver joined the United States Marine Corps. He served for two years and eight months. He was an 81mm mortar man. He had to leave the Marines after he fractured his sternum in a mountain biking accident. He was honorably discharged as a Lance Corporal.

After his military service, Driver tried again to get into Juilliard and was accepted. He found it challenging to adjust to school life after being in the Marines. He graduated with a degree in fine arts in 2009. While at Juilliard, he met his future wife, Joanne Tucker.

Acting Career

Driver at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival

After finishing Juilliard, Adam Driver moved to New York City. He started acting in plays both on Broadway and in smaller theaters. He also worked as a busboy and waiter while trying to make it as an actor. He appeared in a few TV shows and short films. His first movie role was in J. Edgar in 2011.

In 2012, Driver got a big role in the HBO comedy-drama series Girls. He played Adam Sackler, a unique and sometimes unpredictable boyfriend. This role earned him three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He also appeared in major films like Steven Spielberg's Lincoln and Frances Ha.

In 2014, Driver starred in the drama Hungry Hearts. For this role, he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. He also acted in the comedy While We're Young.

Becoming a Worldwide Star

Driver promoting Star Wars: The Force Awakens at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con

In 2014, Adam Driver was chosen to play the villain Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). This movie was a huge success and made him famous around the world. He played Kylo Ren again in The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Many critics praised his performance as the complex character.

In 2016, Driver starred in Paterson, where he played a bus driver who writes poetry. His acting in this film was highly praised. He also appeared in Martin Scorsese's historical film Silence, where he played a 17th-century priest. He lost a lot of weight for this role.

In 2018, Driver played a police detective who goes undercover to join the Ku Klux Klan in Spike Lee's film BlacKkKlansman. His performance earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2019, he starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story. He played a theater director going through a divorce. This role earned him another Academy Award for Best Actor nomination.

Recent Projects

Since 2020, Adam Driver has continued to take on many interesting roles. In 2021, he starred in the musical film Annette. He also had leading roles in two films directed by Ridley Scott: the historical drama The Last Duel and the crime film House of Gucci.

In 2022, Driver worked with director Noah Baumbach again in the film White Noise. In 2023, he starred in the science fiction film 65 and played Enzo Ferrari in the movie Ferrari.

In 2024, Driver starred in Francis Ford Coppola's big film Megalopolis. He also returned to the stage in an off Broadway play called Hold On to Me Darling. In June 2024, it was announced he would be in an upcoming comedy film called Carnival: At the End of Days.

Personal Life

Adam Driver married his long-time girlfriend, Joanne Tucker, in June 2013. They met while they were both studying at Juilliard. They have two children: a son born in 2016 and a daughter born in early 2023. They kept the birth of their son private for two years. The family lives in Brooklyn Heights with their dog.

Driver is the founder of Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF). This is a non-profit group that puts on theater performances for military members and their families around the world.

Adam Driver has mentioned that he doesn't like to watch or listen to his own performances. He once left a radio interview when the host played a clip from one of his movies.

Acting Credits

Driver attending the premiere of Paterson at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival

Film

Key

Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2011	J. Edgar	Walter Lyle
2012	Gayby	Neil
	Not Waving But Drowning	Adam
	Frances Ha	Lev Shapiro
	Lincoln	Samuel Beckwith
2013	Bluebird	Walter
	Inside Llewyn Davis	Al Cody
	Tracks	Rick Smolan
	The F Word	Allan
2014	Hungry Hearts	Jude
	While We're Young	Jamie Massey
	This Is Where I Leave You	Phillip Altman
2015	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	Kylo Ren
2016	Midnight Special	Paul Sevier
	Paterson	Paterson
	Silence	Father Francisco Garupe
2017	The Meyerowitz Stories	Randy
	Logan Lucky	Clyde Logan
	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	Kylo Ren
2018	BlacKkKlansman	Det. Philip "Flip" Zimmerman
	The Man Who Killed Don Quixote	Toby Grummett
2019	The Report	Daniel J. Jones
	The Dead Don't Die	Officer Ronald Peterson
	Marriage Story	Charlie Barber
	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	Ben Solo / Kylo Ren
2021	Annette	Henry McHenry	Also producer
	The Last Duel	Jacques le Gris
	House of Gucci	Maurizio Gucci
2022	White Noise	Jack Gladney
2023	65	Commander Mills
	Ferrari	Enzo Ferrari	Also executive producer
2024	Megalopolis	Cesar Catilina
2025	Father, Mother, Sister, Brother	TBA	Post-production
TBA	Paper Tiger	TBA	Filming

Television

Theater

Video games

Theme park attractions

Awards and Nominations

Adam Driver has received many awards and nominations for his acting. For his TV work, he was nominated four times for a Primetime Emmy Award. Three of these were for his role in Girls. In 2020, he was also nominated for hosting Saturday Night Live.

For his movie roles, he has been nominated twice for an Academy Award. These nominations were for his performances in BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Marriage Story (2019). He also received nominations for the British Academy Film Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for these films. In 2019, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the play Burn This on Broadway.

See also

In Spanish: Adam Driver para niños