Adam Driver may have risen to fame with his portrayal as the young villain, Kylo Ren, in the Star Wars sequel trilogy but several other actors were seriously considered for the role. J.J. Abrams jumped on-board the saga's revival after Disney acquired Lucasfilm and introduced a slew of new characters. Kylo Ren first appeared in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a prominent figure in the First Order who also happened to be the son of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).
Before he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren was known as Ben Solo, a Jedi Padawan being trained by his uncle, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Young Ben was then pulled to the dark side of the Force by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). He destroyed Luke's Jedi Academy and left his family behind to join the First Order. Despite his loyalty, Kylo Ren still felt the opposing pull to the light side, especially when he came into contact with Rey (Daisy Ridley). He later killed Snoke and asked Rey for help in creating a new order amongst the galaxy. In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Kylo Ren gave up his role in the First Order and reclaimed his Ben Solo identity before assisting Rey in Emperor Palpatine's takedown. In the end, he sacrificed himself to save Rey before becoming one with the Force.
Before Driver was cast in The Force Awakens, the actor was best known for films like Frances Ha, Lincoln, and Inside Llewyn Davis as well as his role in the HBO series, Girls. That said, Driver wasn't a household name when he received his Star Wars gig. When the character was being developed for the first installment of the new trilogy, the villain went through many conceptual changes. In the early stages, Kylo Ren was referred to as the "Jedi Killer" and it was likely Abrams envisioned a seasoned actor in the role. During the casting process, Hugo Weaving and Michael Fassbender were considered for the villainous part. At some point, the writers went a different route and felt a younger actor would be a better fit. Eddie Redmayne was one of the memorable names to throw his hat in the ring for Kylo Ren but the audition was a complete failure.
Eddie Redmayne's Kylo Ren Audition Didn't Go Too Well
When Abrams was looking to fill out his Star Wars films with fresh faces, Redmayne had the experience, but he wasn't a well-known name just yet. He was coming off of The Theory of Everything, but Redmayne was still searching for that major mainstream role. The actor auditioned for Star Wars, however, since the project was so secretive, he didn't know any details about the villain he was trying out for. When thinking of a Star Wars villain, his mind went to Darth Vader so Redmayne decided to do his audition in a ridiculous voice. It didn't go so well, but it all worked out in the end since Redmayne was available when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them went looking for their Newt Scamander.
Abrams decided to take a page out of George Lucas' playbook and stuck with relative unknowns when casting his young leads in The Force Awakens. The writer/director offered Driver the part shortly after his auditioning process. It took a little convincing to get him to accept the role but when he did, Driver took the role very seriously. As a method actor, Driver put a lot of extra time and energy into embodying Kylo Ren and his complicated persona. The actor has since cemented himself as one of the Star Wars greats.