BWW Profiles: Stage Vet Adam Driver Vies for 2014 Emmy Award

In anticipation of the live 66th Annual Emmy Award broadcast on NBC on Monday, August 25th, BWW will be spotlighting the Emmy nominated TV performances of some of Broadway's biggest stars. If you want to follow along and interact with all of BroadwayWorld's Emmy coverage, check out #BWWEmmys on Twitter.

Before he got his start on stage, Adam Driver, up for the a 2014 Emmy award for his role on HBO's GIRLS, enlisted with the United States Marine Corps following the events of 9/11 where he served for two-and-a-half years. An injury prevented him from deploying to Iraq, where he was then medically discharged.

With his life in the service abruptly halted, Driver attended the University of Indianapolis for a year before transferring to Juilliard to study drama, kickstarting his career within the New York theater scene.

Driver graduated from Juilliard in 2009, going on to cement a solid relationship with Signature Theatre Company and Roundabout. Between 2009 and 2012, Driver appeared in THE RETRIBUTIONISTS at Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout's revival of MRS. WARREN's PROFESSION, Signature's 2010 production of ANGELS IN AMERICA, Roundabout's MAN AND BOY in 2011 and LOOK BACK IN ANGER in 2012.

Driver put his stage career on hold of that year, signing on for Lena Dunham's first foray into teleivison for HBO, GIRLS. Since its debut, the series has gone on to score a number of awards, including a Golden Globe, and a number of Emmy nominations. Driver was previously nominated for 'Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series' in 2013, the same award for which he's vying this year.

His film credits include WHAT IF, J. EDGAR, GABY, LINCOLN, and FRANCES-HA, opposite indie darling Greta Gerwig.

Driver's continued success on screen has led to perhaps his largest role yet. In February 2014, it was announced that the two-time Emmy nominee had boarded J.J. Abrams' STAR WARS: EPISODE VII, playing the film's primary villain. Though no details of the character have been revealed, sources have said that he's believed to be "in the vein of Darth Vader." Since the initial announcement of Driver's casting, Disney and LucasFilms have gone on to announce that John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, Lupita N'yongo and Gwendoline Christie have signed on, alongside original stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.

In honor of Driver's 2014 Emmy nod, BroadwayWorld is highlighting the star's time on stage and screen below!

Join the Emmys conversation in the comments below, or on Twitter using #BWWEmmys.

The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards telecast will air live coast-to-coast on Monday, August 25th (8 PM ET/5 PM PT) on NBC from the NOKIA Theater L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles. And be sure to visit BWW TVWorld for live coverage of the 2014 Primetime EMMY AWARDS.

Photo by Walter McBride