--- title: Adam Driver TED Talk: Star Wars Actor 'Loved' Being A Marine description: In a recent TED Talk, the Star Wars actor tells of joining the military, finding his way to acting, and learning to understand emotion. canonical: https://time.com/4378997/adam-driver-star-wars-marine-ted-talk/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-22T22:01:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:33:40.259Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Adam Driver 'Loved' Being a Marine og:description: In a recent TED Talk, the Star Wars actor shares his military roots. og:url: https://time.com/4378997/adam-driver-star-wars-marine-ted-talk/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Adam Driver 'Loved' Being a Marine twitter:description: In a recent TED Talk, the Star Wars actor shares his military roots. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Adam Driver’s TED Talk Is Surprisingly Moving > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 22, 2016 10:01 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jun 22, 2016 10:01 PM UTC [Adam Driver](http://time.com/4178985/adam-driver-hosts-snl-promos/?iid=sr-link2) is now a major Hollywood star, thanks first to his role on HBO’s hit _Girls_ and then to his turn as [_Star Wars_](http://time.com/4134517/adam-driver-star-wars-still-jimmy-fallon/?iid=sr-link4) villain Kylo Ren. But before all that, the quirky actor was just a 17-year-old kid without prospects in Indiana who decided to join the Marines, post-9/11\. In a recent TED Talk, he tells of joining the military, leaving its ranks, finding his way to acting — and eventually figuring out a way to combine the two. “I loved it, I loved being a Marine,” he says, “But I loved the Marine Corps the most for the thing I was looking for the least when I joined, which was the people.” He was sidelined by an injury while the rest of his platoon headed off to Iraq, leaving him to unexpectedly transition back into civilian life. He was accepted into Juilliard for acting — but had trouble adjusting. It was the literature of the theater that helped. “I felt myself becoming less aggressive as I was able to words to feelings for the first time, and realizing what a valuable tool that was,” he explains in the talk. He wanted to give his fellow soldiers the chance to connect with theater, too. So he founded a non-profit [called Arts in the Armed Forces](http://www.aitaf.org/), in which actors perform for military audiences around the world, offering each a window into the other’s culture. “I can think of no better community to arm with a new means of self-expression that those protecting our country,” he says. Driver’s talk is followed by a scene performed by two actors, and the whole thing is worth a watch for a new window into the work of the unlikely star. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4378997/adam-driver-star-wars-marine-ted-talk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4378997/adam-driver-star-wars-marine-ted-talk/"},"headline":"Adam Driver’s TED Talk Is Surprisingly Moving","datePublished":"2016-06-22T22:01:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:33:40.259Z","description":"\"Self-expression is just as powerful a tool as having a rifle on your shoulder.\"","url":"https://time.com/4378997/adam-driver-star-wars-marine-ted-talk/","keywords":["celebrities","Newsfeed","Entertainment"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4378997/adam-driver-star-wars-marine-ted-talk/","name":"Adam Driver’s TED Talk Is Surprisingly Moving"}}]}] ```