At the tender age of 26, "Girls" creator/starLena Dunham has a career most filmmakers would envy. She comes from an artsy background; her mom is famed photographer Laurie Simmons and her dad is artist Carroll Dunham. And two years ago, she won raves at a host of festivals for "Tiny Furniture," an autobiographical indie film she wrote and directed. Now she's teamed up with comedy guru Judd Apatow to bring us "Girls," which she writes, directs, and stars in as post-grad aspiring writer Hannah Horvath. But Lena doesn't go easy on herself; Hannah is a selfish, spoiled whiner, and exposes herself in some incredibly awkward sex scenes. "I've felt a little unfairly duped by the sex I see on television," Dunham explains to "CBS This Morning." "Sex isn't always glamorous. It's embarrassing, it's complicated, and I really wanted to see scenes where girls weren't wearing negligees and sighing."
Allison Williams takes on her first regular TV role as Hannah's best friend and roommate, Marnie. But it's not her family's first foray on the small screen: Her dad is "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams. Before landing "Girls," Allison appeared on TV shows like "American Dreams" and "The League," and played Kate Middleton in a series of Funny or Die videos parodying the William & Kate royal wedding. The Yale graduate even showed she can sing a couple years back with a jazzy rendition of the "Mad Men" theme song that became a viral-video hit.
London native Jemima Kirke went to high school with Dunham and co-starred in her film “Tiny Furniture” before joining the “Girls” cast as bohemian free spirit Jessa. But she’s not an actress by trade; instead, she’s a trained artist who earned a BFA in painting from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design. And though her character, Jessa, is a disinterested babysitter, she’s actually a new mom in real life; she gave birth to a daughter, Rafaella, just before “Girls” began shooting. Jemima comes from famous stock herself: Her dad is Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke.
Rounding out the quartet as talkative virgin Shoshanna, Zosia Mamet is probably the most familiar face on "Girls." She's had recurring roles on "Mad Men" (as Peggy's lesbian friend Joyce), "Parenthood," and "The United States of Tara," and appeared in films like "The Kids Are All Right" and "Greenberg." And yes, she has a famous dad, too: renowned playwright David Mamet. But the Mamet name doesn't necessarily guarantee a smooth path to stardom. She tells the Huffington Post, "One of my first auditions I ever had, an older director told me how much he hated my dad. I was like, 'That's weird'... I'm proud of where I came from, but it's made for some interesting moments."
"Girls" viewers love to hate Adam Driver -- or at least his character: Hannah's callous, manipulative sex buddy Adam. In real life, Driver is a much more upstanding citizen, having enlisted in the Marines a few months after September 11th and later graduating from Julliard with a drama degree. He's gone on to work with A-list directors like Clint Eastwood ("J. Edgar") and Steven Spielberg (the upcoming "Lincoln"), and has an extensive theater resume, replacing Zachary Quinto last year as Louis in the New York revival of "Angels in America." See, guys, he's not really an a-hole!
Christopher Abbott, who plays Marnie's puppy-dog boyfriend Charlie, got bit by the acting bug while working in a video store as a teen. "I watched movies constantly," he tells Broadway.com, "so the seed was planted." Like Driver, he first got noticed in live theater with a starring role on Broadway in John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves," and co-starred with Elizabeth Olsen in last year's acclaimed drama "Martha Marcy May Marlene." Abbott also plays Jeremy in the buzzy Sundance hit "Hello I Must Be Going," due out later this year.
Alex Karpovsky is another "Tiny Furniture" vet, having played Dunham's semi-love interest Jed in the film. Now he's playing Charlie's loudmouth buddy, Ray, whose pro-McDonald's rant in the "Girls" pilot is the best argument for rampant capitalism we've heard in years. Like Dunham, Karpovsky is a budding director: His latest effort, "Rubberneck," premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival. And he's just filmed a role in the Coen brothers' next movie, "inside Llewyn Davis." He tells New York magazine that his experience on that set taught him a lot about directing: "It’s the closest thing I’ve ever had to film school."
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