Adam Driver insists being in the Marines is similar to acting.

The 30-year-old star - who was catapulted to the spotlight in hit series 'Girls' as Adam Sackler - joined the United States Marine Corps following the tragic 9/11 attacks in the US and served for two years and eight months before being deployed to Iraq.

Adam used many of the skills he developed in this time including teamwork, sense of personal responsibility and the necessity to develop an intimate relationship with his colleagues when he began acting.

Asked whether there is a difference between being in the Marines and an actor, he said: ''Oh, completely. But at the same time, they're also very similar. Obviously the stakes are lower but there are many things I learned in the military that were the best acting training: being a cohesive unit; knowing your role within the team, and that it's not about you, it's about a greater story, but you are responsible for your part; and you have to be intimate with people you have never met in a short amount of time. All those things are weirdly applied to being an actor.''

Adam thinks his experiences in the military have helped shape him as an actor as they made him understand the ''bizarre'' behaviour of people when they're put in ''heightened circumstances''.

He told Stylist magazine: ''Being around hundreds of dudes for two years, you can't help but notice the interesting behaviour in those heightened circumstances.

''People behave crazy when they are having experiences like almost being hit by white phosphorous or getting isolated from family or being away from women for a long time.

''So you have 19 or 20-year-old dudes who have broken up with their girlfriend, they have a rifle in their hands and can't go 'Hey guys, can I take a cellphone break while I talk to my girlfriend?' People behave in bizarre ways and that's interesting information that I feel as an actor, have seeped through everything I have done.''