Adam Driver dodges question about Lena Dunham’s explosive ‘Girls’ claims at Cannes
Adam Driver sidestepped allegations made in Lena Dunham’s new memoir about his behaviour during the filming of Girls as the actor promoted his latest Cannes premiere, Paper Tiger.
Adam Driver has brushed off claims made by Lena Dunham about his alleged on-set behaviour during the filming of HBO’s Girls.
The actor, 42, was appearing at a press conference for his new film Paper Tiger when he was asked at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday (17.05.26) about Lena’s allegations in her released memoir Famesick – but the star simply joked he was “saving” his response for his own autobiography.
Lena’s book, which has generated widespread discussion online and renewed attention around the making of Girls, details the writer and actress’ account of working with Adam during the early years of the Emmy-winning HBO comedy-drama that helped launch both of their careers.
Adam, who later found global fame as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens sequel trilogy and earned Oscar nominations for BlacKkKlansman, Marriage Story and Ferrari, declined to directly address the allegations during the Cannes appearance.
He said: “I have no comment on any of that. I’m saving it all for my book.”
His reply prompted laughter from journalists in the room.
In Famesick, Lena, 40, described tense moments between the pair while filming Girls, in which Adam played the unpredictable Adam Sackler opposite Lena’s Hannah Horvath.
Lena wrote: “I remember doing a fight scene with Adam and how scary it was to meet someone so totally present with such absence.
“Late one night, as we practiced lines in my trailer, I found that mine were suddenly gone. I knew I’d written them. I’d known them only minutes before. But when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a stammer – until finally, Adam screamed, ‘F****** SAY SOMETHING’ and hurled a chair at the wall next to me. ‘WAKE THE F*** UP,’ he told me. ‘I’M SICK OF WATCHING YOU JUST STARE’.”
Despite the incident, Lena wrote she and Adam “still felt like partners” during the first season of Girls and admitted she “spent an inordinate amount of time wondering if Adam liked me”.
She added: “He could be short-tempered and verbally aggressive, condescending and physically imposing, but could also be protective, loving even.”
The renewed focus on Girls comes as Lena continues promoting Famesick, which has sparked debate about behind-the-scenes conduct in television production and the blurred lines between creative intensity and workplace behaviour.
Her HBO series, which ran from 2012 to 2017, remains one of the defining television dramas of the 2010s and helped establish Lena as a prominent voice in millennial storytelling.
Adam’s latest project, Paper Tiger, premiered at Cannes on Saturday (16.05.26) night and reportedly received a seven-minute standing ovation.
Directed by James Gray, the film co-stars Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller.
Set in 1986, the drama follows two brothers caught up in criminal activity linked to Russian mobsters after a failed scheme to clean up Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal.
Scarlett was absent from the premiere because she was working in New York, with James telling reporters he unsuccessfully attempted to FaceTime her during the ovation.
