How did Adam Driver go from the Marines to Hollywood?

Adam Driver. Former Marine mortarman, medically discharged before his unit went to Iraq, who got into Juilliard, became a 2-time Oscar nominee and founded Arts in the Armed Forces to bring theater to troops.

In the military

Enlisted a few months after Sept 11, 2001 (age 18); served about 2 years 8 months as an 81mm mortarman with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines (1/1), 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California. Broke/dislocated his sternum in a mountain-biking accident shortly before his unit deployed to Iraq and was medically discharged in 2004 without deploying.

The transition

• Medically separated in 2004 as his platoon prepared to deploy to Iraq; he called it ‘very devastating’ and said it took him a long time to get over it.
• Said the move from military to civilian life was ‘complex’ and that infantry skills had few civilian outlets.
• Was accepted to The Juilliard School and graduated in 2009.
• Arrived at Juilliard communicating like an infantry Marine (‘kind of aggressive’) and had to adjust; also said a 16-hour film day felt easy physically compared with the military.
• Founded Arts in the Armed Forces in 2008, while still a student, to stage contemporary American plays for military audiences on bases worldwide.

What came next

• Two Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actor for BlacKkKlansman (2019 ceremony) and Best Actor for Marriage Story (2020 ceremony).
• Played Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015 to 2019).
• Emmy nominations for HBO’s Girls; Tony nomination for Burn This (2019); Volpi Cup for Best Actor at Venice for Hungry Hearts (2014).
• Arts in the Armed Forces (founded 2008) has toured productions to military bases, e.g. Lobby Hero in South Korea.

In Driver’s own words

“I joined a few months after September 11, feeling like I think most people in the country did at the time, filled with a sense of patriotism and retribution and the desire to do something.” (TEDxMidAtlantic talk ‘My journey from Marine)

“I found I loved the Marine Corps the most for the thing I was looking for the least when I joined, which was the people.” (TEDxMidAtlantic talk, November 2015)

“Those never in the military may find this hard to understand, but being told I wasn’t getting deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan was very devastating for me.” (TEDxMidAtlantic talk, November 2015)

“I was surprised by how complex the transition was from military to civilian.” (TEDxMidAtlantic talk, November 2015)

“I was an Infantry Marine, where you’re shooting machine guns and firing mortars. There’s not a lot of places you can put those skills in the civilian world.” (TEDxMidAtlantic talk, November 2015)

“It’s all kind of a team thing it’s not about you. You just have a role and you should act your role and support the people around you.” (Interview with Task & Purpose, April 7, 2016)

Lessons for your own transition

• The plan you had for your last chapter can vanish overnight; Driver lost his deployment and his unit, grieved it, then put the same intensity into a new goal.
• Your rough edges are also assets: he had to soften his military communication style, but kept the work ethic and team-first mindset that made long civilian workdays feel manageable.
• Build a bridge back: founding Arts in the Armed Forces let him keep serving the military community from his new career.

More veterans who made the leap

See them all, and practical steps for leaving after a long career: How do I transition from the military to civilian work after 30 years?.