The boys of ‘Girls’

Alex Karpovsky and Christopher Abbott

When “Girls” began in April, all of the buzz was about creator and star Lena Dunham and her cast of privileged gal pals.

But as Season 1 wraps up Sunday, the conversation has turned to the boys of “Girls.”

“I’ve read comments about ‘Girls’ that said, in a nutshell, ‘I like the show, but I can’t see me in the show,’ ” blogged actor James Franco.

“I feel the same way. The guys in the show are the biggest bunch of losers I’ve ever seen.”

And the blog Jezebel has a weekly column called “Boys who talk about ‘Girls,’ ” in which men usually dismiss any similarity between themselves and the male characters.

Hannah’s boyfriend Adam (Adam Driver), friend Ray (Alex Karpovsky) and her roommate’s ex-boyfriend Charlie (Christopher Abbott) are the guys everyone loves to hate.

Dunham has said she writes from personal experiences, so has she really known Adams, Rays and Charlies?

Karpovsky, who plays the sarcastic, crude Ray, has known Dunham since 2009, when they met at South by Southwest. They became friends via e-mail and DVD swaps.

Dunham cast Karpovsky in the caustic guy-friend role in her first film, “Tiny Furniture,” and when it came time to cast “Girls,” she thought Karpovsky would be a good fit.

“So much of what Lena writes seems to come from her life, so much of it is autobiographical,” Karpovsky tells The Post. “I’m pretty sure I know that the Charlie character is based on someone she knows, or knew quite well in the past, who kind of got into a similar dynamic with his girlfriend as Charlie got into with Marnie.

“I don’t know if she knew kind of an Adam type of character or a Ray type of character, but I can only suspect, based on my knowledge of Lena, that they are relics of her past.”

On NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Dunham admitted there is one relationship displayed on the show that is particularly personal.

“I don’t think I let the weight of it hit me [about] the amount of stuff about my own life . . . I’ve put out into the world,” she says.

“There’s the occasional moment at like 3 in the morning when I’m suddenly like, my breasts are on TV, as is a fairly accurate account of my first post-college relationship.”

Dunham’s character, Hannah, spends most of Season 1 determined to turn her afternoon booty-call arrangement with Adam into a real relationship. Then, when she gets it, she’s not so sure that’s really what she wants.

Adam has bizarre sexual fetishes and rage issues, but can also be vulnerable and charming, sparking a mix of reactions from fans.

Getting Driver, who plays Adam, to commit to an interview is nearly as vexing.

A former Marine who studied acting at Juilliard and has appeared on Broadway, Driver has not given an interview since “Girls” began. When a reporter for New York magazine tracked him down at a movie premiere, he was described as “reluctant to discuss his sudden ‘Girls’ fame.” He eventually told the reporter a brief story about being chased home by an overzealous “Girls” fan.

Karpovsky, who moved to New York in his mid-20s from Boston (he’s now in his 30s), says he sees a lot of himself and his friends in the “Girls” characters, “the general sense of uncertainty and existential adriftness” at that time in his life. He understands the appeal of the Adam character, as well.

“I haven’t seen too many of these types of characters on TV. So he’s kind of mesmerizing to me,” Karpovsky says. “The fact that he can be so repulsive yet so charismatic, he can be so mean yet so embracing and warm all in the same breath, is really stunning.

“I give Lena a tremendous amount of credit for creating a character with so much dimension and breadth.”

Karpovsky also clears up the comparison that begs to be made between himself and Ray, given that he and Dunham are real-life friends.

“I don’t feel like my sense of humor is really like [Ray’s]; it’s not as crude, it’s not as biting, it’s not as curt,” he says.

“I can get in moods where I’m a little more crabby and snarky and kind of go on the fringes of Ray-hood. But for the most part, I don’t really feel like it’s my sweet spot, in terms of Alex.”