Adam Driver dodges Lena Dunham memoir inquiry at Cannes

Adam Driver might be recognised for his roles in acclaimed films such as “BlacKkKlansman” and major blockbusters like “Star Wars,” but his rise to fame began with his TV role in Lena Dunham‘s HBO series “Girls.”

The show has been back in the headlines recently following Dunham's memoir, “Famesick,” which unveiled some behind-the-scenes drama including remarks on Driver's on-set conduct.

In the memoir, Dunham claimed Driver was occasionally “verbally aggressive” and once “threw a chair at the wall next to me.” During a Cannes press event for his latest film “Paper Tiger” on Sunday, Driver was quickly asked about these allegations.

“I have no comments regarding that. I’m keeping it all for my book,” Driver said simply, causing a burst of laughter to spread across the room.

In “Famesick,” Dunham described: “I recall filming a fight sequence with Adam and how intimidating it was to face someone so fully present yet so absent. Late one evening, while rehearsing lines in my trailer, my lines suddenly vanished. I knew I had written them. I was confident in them just moments ago. But when I tried to speak, all that came out was a stammer — until Adam yelled, ‘JUST SAY SOMETHING’ and hurled a chair at the wall next to me. ‘WAKE UP,’ he told me. ‘I’M TIRED OF WATCHING YOU JUST STAND THERE.’”

Despite their complicated relationship, Dunham said she and Driver “continued to feel like partners” during the first season of “Girls” and she “spent a considerable amount of time pondering if Adam liked me.”

“He could be quick-tempered and verbally abrasive, dismissive and physically daunting,” she wrote, yet “he could also be protective, at times even caring.”

“Paper Tiger,” directed by James Gray and featuring Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, had its premiere on Saturday evening to a seven-minute standing applause. Set in the year 1986, the narrative follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl, whose attempt to amass wealth by helping to clean up the Gowanus Canal leads to catastrophe after Irwin (Teller), a timid family man, angers Russian gangsters by unknowingly witnessing their illegal acts. It’s then up to Gary (Driver), a former police officer, to rescue him, although his efforts only entangle them further into a violent underworld.

Johansson was unable to attend the Cannes showing — and didn’t answer Gray's FaceTime during the applause — but sent a statement that Gray read aloud during the press conference. “I want to be fair to Scarlett, I didn’t disclose to her that I would attempt to FaceTime her. I just hoped for good fortune,” Gray mentioned before sharing Johansson’s message. “She is working in New York and everything that comes with it.”

“Working with James and this incredible cast has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career. I am immensely grateful to be part of a story deeply anchored in what truly matters: human connection, identity, and the progression of our values over generations,” Johansson expressed.

“I’m sorry I can’t join you today. James, I know you’re reading this right now, and this section might make you truly uneasy, my apologies. Yet I want you to know how much it means to me to have been part of something you crafted with such dedication and purpose, stemming from your artistic soul. The thoughtfulness and sensitivity toward the human condition in this film are evident on screen, in every frame, and I am beyond proud to have been involved.”

She went on, “To everyone who is watching and writing about this film, thank you for taking the time with our story. Film has an extraordinary capacity to unite us through a common experience. It occurs in the dark, where we can’t visibly see one another, yet somehow we feel each other's presence and empathy. That shared empathy is something we certainly need more of at this moment.”