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Acclaimed actor Ethan Hawke provided fascinating insights into his creative process and long-standing collaborations with filmmakers. Hawke revealed that he first read the script for his upcoming Richard Linklater film "Blue Moon" 12 years ago, eager to portray lyricist Lorenz Hart. However, Linklater told Hawke he was "still too attractive" for the role and they would need to wait a while before making the film. "He said, 'You're still too attractive. We gotta wait til you're a little less attractive,'" Hawke recounted, drawing laughter from the audience.
The two revisited the script every few years, waiting for the right moment. "And then he saw me on an interview. I was on the Jimmy Fallon show or something last year, and he called me up and he said, 'Hey, I saw you on Jimmy Fallon!'" Hawke said. "And I said, 'Oh, great, yeah. How'd it go?' He goes, 'Oh, it was fine. Let's make Blue Moon. We're ready.'"
Hawke praised Linklater as a "strange person" and "the first great artist" of his generation that Hawke had met. "He doesn't want to impress you. He doesn't want you to think he's fabulous. He really loves the medium of what film could be. And he's really always such a student himself."
The actor also spoke about his admiration for filmmakers who risk personal finances to pursue passion projects, citing Francis Ford Coppola selling his winery to fund "Megalopolis." Hawke lamented that "greed runs our universe" in the film industry, where "most of our favorite movies, that's not what was motivating the project."
"I love it when people keep the great dream alive of making something magnificent, and it's very hard because the whole industry that runs movie making is designed to make money," Hawke said. "I would never want to not be a person that wouldn't sell their house to make a movie. I love that. I think it's cool. I admire the hell out of it."
Hawke also reflected on the joys and challenges of acting, comparing the experience to "the joys of doing drugs." He said, "There's a strange double-edged sword to being an actor, which is that on the outside, you get celebrated in success, but the true joys of performing are in disappearing...you feel yourself disappear and become part of this dream. And that's the feeling that's so wonderful."
Despite his prolific career, Hawke acknowledged feeling "slightly disappointed" after watching blockbusters like "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars," wishing he could be 9a wizard or Jedi. In contrast, Linklater's films leave him feeling he's "connected with another human being, and that was important, and that was magic."
As Hawke continues to push boundaries and collaborate with visionary directors, his honest reflections on the film industry and the creative process offer a unique perspective for aspiring filmmakers and movie enthusiasts alike.
