Andrew Rannells Opens Up About Lena Dunham's Memoir and Working on Girls

Andrew Rannells sat down with Andy Cohen and co-host John Hill on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live to discuss his time on HBO's Girls and his thoughts on Lena Dunham's recently released memoir.

The 47-year-old actor revealed he had already read Famesick and even hosted Dunham's book launch a couple of weeks prior. During their conversation, Rannells reflected on the intensity of the production, acknowledging the significant workload Dunham managed behind the scenes.

"I knew it was a lot of work and I knew it was a lot of pressure," Rannells explained. "I would watch her in between takes writing a book or writing a screenplay or rewriting episodes. She was just always working." He noted that while he recognized the demanding nature of the role, he was struck by how much enjoyment he personally experienced on set, telling Dunham directly: "I thought we were having so much fun."

Rannells attributed his lighter experience to his position within the show's structure. "It was fun for me because I was like a guest star at the beginning, so I was just blowing in and having fun and then leaving," he said. "I wasn't writing it. I wasn't producing it. Nor was I getting dragged to hell on social media."

When Cohen brought up the dynamic between Dunham and Adam Driver that features prominently in the memoir, Rannells suggested he had limited visibility into their relationship. "I wasn't in a lot of those scenes," he explained, noting that the episodic nature of television production meant cast members didn't always overlap. "There were weeks that I wouldn't see—I would only see Lena or, you know, most of my scenes were with her or with Allison [Williams]."

Rannells joked about his limited acting process compared to Driver's Juilliard training, describing his own approach as making faces and having a loose craft. He quipped that his contributions to the show largely involved "sitting on laps."

The conversation took a humorous turn when Rannells revealed he had attempted to start a rumor at Dunham's book launch that he and Driver had been romantically involved throughout the show's run. "It didn't get any traction," he said with a laugh.

The pair also addressed an earlier interview where Cohen acknowledged he had been overly flirtatious with Rannells, noting that social media had called out the behavior. Rannells admitted he had no recollection of the incident, prompting both to exchange apologies—Cohen for his conduct and Rannells for not remembering. "It's called manners listeners. Gay manners," Rannells quipped.

SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live airs weekdays from 10 a.m. ET on Radio Andy (Channel 102) and is available anytime via the SiriusXM app.