Adam Driver had to be convinced to audition for his breakthrough role in Girls, which helped propel him to mainstream stardom. Girls debuted on HBO back in 2012 and aired its six seasons until 2017. It was created by star Lena Dunham, who played struggling young writer Hannah Horvath, with Driver playing her on-again-off-again boyfriend Adam Sackler. The show also starred Jemima Kirke, Allison Williams, and Zosia Mamet as Hannah's core group of friends.
Since appearing on Girls, Driver has gone on to become a household name, mostly due to his role as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel movie trilogy. After landing a very brief role in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln in 2012, Driver has since starred alongside Scarlet Johansson in Netflix's Marriage Story, as well as taking on roles in major films like The Report, Logan Lucky, BlacKkKlansman and Ridley Scott's recent The Last Duel. His latest film, House of Gucci, sees Driver stars as Maurizio Gucci alongside Lady Gaga as his ex-wife Patrizia Reggiani. However, if it weren't for his foray into small-screen acting, Driver may have never become such a familiar face in popular films today.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Driver spoke about his role in House of Gucci. When asked if he ever had to be "convinced" to take on a particular role, the actor mentioned that he almost didn't audition for his life-altering role in Girls. Prior to taking on the role of Sackler, Driver was mainly working on theater projects and wasn't interested in television. He explained:
"I will say Girls. I didn't understand it. I was doing a lot of theater at the time and I didn't really watch a lot of TV shows, which I hope doesn't sound like elitist, but I wasn't interested. And my agent convinced me to go in and read for Girls. And I met Lena and got the job. And it changed the course of my life."
It's hard to imagine that Driver might have stuck to the theater world if it weren't for the push from his agent to audition for Dunham's Girls. In just a few short years, Driver went from an up-and-coming actor to an iconic Star Wars villain in his own right. And while his filmography list is already impressive, it still feels like Driver is just getting started.
As for Girls, it cemented its place in television history as an iconic series, aside from serving as a launching pad for Driver. While the show itself is over, Girls lives on through internet memes. A particularly intense and comedic moment in which Driver's character simply says "good soup" has inexplicably become a viral meme on TikTok over the past few months. At the time of its airing, the show was lauded as a more realistic look at young women living in New York City, as opposed to a highly stylized series like Sex and the City. While it might not have garnered the same audience, it was a different kind of story being told from a uniquely millennial female-focussed point of view. What's more, Driver likely will forever look back on it fondly, as Girls really did completely alter the course of his career.