Adam Driver at the "Annette" Photocall - The 74th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Adam Driver Bonds With Josh Gad Over Failed Juilliard Auditions

Home / Entertainment / Adam Driver Bonds With Josh Gad Over Failed Juilliard Auditions

By Kristin Myers on November 13, 2021 at 1:09 PM PST

"Star Wars" actor Adam Driver has been in many films since he first debuted in Lena Dunham's HBO comedy series "Girls."

In 2021 alone, he showed off his vocals in the musical "Annette." He also featured in the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon drama "The Last Duel," which was directed by Ridley Scott.

Driver teamed up with Scott once again to play Maurizio Gucci in the upcoming "House of Gucci" biopic alongside a star-studded cast of Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, and Al Pacino.

However, Driver revealed that his acting dreams almost did not come to be after he failed his initial Juilliard audition.

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Adam Driver And Josh Gad Joke About Their Failed Juilliard Auditions

In an appearance on "The Graham Norton Show" to promote his upcoming film, the "Marriage Story" actor revealed that he "tried to get into Julliard but didn’t so I drove all the way to California to be an actor but that didn’t work out. I wasted all my money fixing my car."

“I was there 48 hours and had just enough gas money to get back to Indiana," he added. "I had made such a fuss about leaving and there I was back again. That’s when I joined the military."

However, he fractured his sternum after mountain biking with friends just before his unit was about to be deployed to Iraq, and was medically discharged.

After attending the University of Indianapolis for a year, he applied to Juilliard again and was accepted. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2009.

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"Frozen" voice actor Josh Gad also got a Bachelor of Fine Arts, but from the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts in 2003. He revealed that he did apply to Juilliard, but was not accepted.

He explained, "I failed my audition for Juilliard. It was horrible. I did my modern monologue and there was no response."

"Then I did my Shakespeare monologue and completely forgot all the lines and what I learned is that you don't improv Shakespeare," Gad joked.

Although it may not have been Juilliard, Gad still has some bragging rights. He went to college with Broadway stars Leslie Odom Jr. and Rory O’Malley.

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Adam Driver Reveals He Was Intimidated By Comic-Con

Although Driver received the rank of Lance Corporal for his two-year service in the United States Marine Corps, he admitted that he finds Comic-Con "scary" and has no desire to go again.

"I didn't like it," he explained. "I didn’t know the rules. I couldn’t go out for a coffee without a mask in case I was recognized and when I opened my window there was a band playing the ‘Star Wars’ theme on repeat."

“It was scary," he added. "And there are two thousand people who are very devoted. There is a lot of energy. I saw what it was, and I am not anxious to go again.”

Although many fans are disappointed that they won't be able to spot Driver at the next Comic-Con, they'll still be able to catch him on screen in "House of Gucci," which hits theaters on November 24.

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