Adam Driver was just 17-years-old when the World Trad Center fell during the September 11 attacks in 2001. Instead of going to college, Driver joined the United States Marine Corps.
Filled with patriotism, anger, and a need for retribution, Driver found purpose and brotherhood as a Marine.
He served with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines as an 81mm mortar man for two years and eight months. Just a month before his deployment to Iraq, Driver was injured and medically discharged. “Being told I wasn’t going to deploy was very devastating,” said Driver. “In the military everything had meaning,” he explained. “Everything you did was either steeped in tradition or had a practical purpose.”
Torn away from his brothers and his purpose, Driver felt completely lost as a civilian.
He decided to go back to something that brought him joy as a teenager, acting.
Twelve years later he has starred in dozens of films and television series, with his most notable role as Kylo Ren in the Star Wars franchise. He has since founded the non-profit group Arts in the Armed Forces, which provides free modern theatrical entertainment for the armed forces. Driver and his non-profit have performed fro injured troops and their families at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Learn more about his transition to civilian life and finding a new purpose in the video below.