In her newly released memoir Famesick, Lena Dunham has detailed intense on-set experiences with Adam Driver during the production of HBO's Girls, describing his behavior at times as "something feral."
Dunham, who created and starred in the series, writes that she considered Driver "half-man, half-beast" due to alleged volatile incidents. One particularly dramatic moment occurred during line rehearsals, when she claims Driver screamed, "F--KING SAY SOMETHING" and hurled a chair at a wall near her, followed by yelling, "WAKE THE F--K UP. I'M SICK OF WATCHING YOU JUST STARE." At the time, Dunham was experiencing dissociation related to undiagnosed endometriosis.
"Adam screamed, 'F--KING SAY SOMETHING' and hurled a chair at the wall next to me," Dunham recounts in the memoir. "'WAKE THE F--K UP,' he told me. 'I'M SICK OF WATCHING YOU JUST STARE.'"
The intimate scenes between their characters, Hannah Horvath and Adam Sackler, also left a strong impression. Dunham alleges that carefully planned blocking for sex scenes "went out the window" during filming, with Driver allegedly hurling her "this way and that" while in character.
"Part of me was afraid that when I turned around, I would find I was suddenly in a full-penetration 1970s porno," Dunham admits, noting she eventually called cut after "a few mimed thrusts."
Despite these challenging memories, Dunham expresses professional admiration for Driver's craft. "I learned more from him than anyone I've ever stood across from on camera," she reflects. "I feel like in a way, that was the best I'll ever be at acting."
She also contextualizes the behavior, suggesting the high-pressure environment of their first major jobs contributed to the dynamics. "I think that was all of our first job, so I wouldn't say Girls would be a road map for how anyone behaved anywhere else," Dunham said during a recent interview, comparing the experience to reality TV scenarios.
While Driver told Dunham he'd "always love" her when the series concluded in 2017, she notes she "never heard from him again." Driver's representatives have not responded to requests for comment regarding the memoir's allegations, though the actor previously praised working with Dunham in a 2017 interview, calling it "the best kind of working environment."
Reflecting with hindsight, Dunham says she would now respond differently to such behavior. "Were I to go back, I would so not take that behavior personally," she states. "I would understand everyone is just doing what they need to do to make it happen."