Kylo Ren Talks About Serving in the Marines Before Joining the Dark Side

In my opinion Adam Driver’s character is probably one of the biggest disappointments of an otherwise mostly good Star Wars movie.  Really did anyone expect a young Marilyn Manson when Kylo Ren took his helmet off?  To be fair though he is a much better actor than Hayden Christensen was in the prequels.  Of interest though is that before joining the Dark Side, Adam Driver was once a US Marine:

For a while, Adam Driver felt like he was doomed to a life of missed opportunities.

Of course, for an Emmy-nominated actor named one of GQ’s “Men of the Year,” that’s not true anymore — but ask him about his role in the new “Star Wars” film and it quickly becomes apparent that he does not want to screw this one up.

A misfit growing up in small town Mishawaka, Indiana, Driver was drawn to performing from an early age, landing regular roles in high school plays and singing in the choir at the church where his stepfather was pastor.

But mediocre grades kept him from getting accepted into acting school after graduating in 2001. With big talk to match his big dreams, he set off for Los Angeles to try to break into acting the old-fashioned way. Instead, his car broke down halfway there and, out of money, he was forced to retreat back home.

“It’s hard to come back after telling everyone ‘I’m outta here,’ ” he says.

A new hope

After stints selling vacuums door-to-door and other odd jobs, Driver was among the first to go see a Marine Corps recruiter after the Sept. 11 attacks, signing up for the infantry.  [Military Times]

You can read the rest at the link.