Ethan Hawke has been trying to shed his Gen X skin for years. With his roles in films like Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites and Before Sunrise, Hawke became the voice of his generation. This was by no means his intention but its something thats been attached to him for many years. With his recent success and Academy Award nomination for Training Day, his directorial debut with Chelsea Walls and his divorce from Uma Thurman hes grown up a bit.
Now hes playing a role in a new erotic thriller that is traditionally given to women, the victim. In Taking Lives he is James Costa a man being stalked by serial killer who falls in love with FBI profiler Illeana Scott, played by Angelina Jolie.
The next year should be an exciting one for Hawke. He is playing a mobster in the remake of John Carpenters Assault on Precinct 13, he is starring in the sequel to Before Sunrise named appropriately Before Sunset and by this time next year his new book should be released.
Check out the website for Taking Lives
George Everit: I was talking to Angelina Jolie about your love scene and how you didn't take your suit off for it.
Ethan Hawke: Yes, that's very true. It was her idea, did she say that? I was grateful. You just try to look for a way to make these scenes seem strange.
GE: You're a writer and actor. Do you have a priority in terms of those two things?
EH: My life's priority is being a good father. That's a boring thing to say, but that's a daily thing. All of my professional life stems from acting. Acting has been my first love. Acting has taught me about writing, acting has taught me about directing, acting is my livelihood. So, that's obviously my first priority.
GE: Why do you like being an actor?
EH: One of the great advantages of being an actor, particularly over a long period of time, is getting to experience what it's like to have other jobs and be other people. I remember doing a movie called A Midnight Clear [released in 1992] which was a World War 2 movie I did when I was young. Doing all of the research about World War 2 and meeting veterans and doing that whole that thing was just such an insightful experience. Whenever people talk about World War 2, I feel like I have some knowledge because I wore those real costumes and ran around like that. The same thing with being a police officer because of all the work that we did on Training Day. Over any kind of period of time, you learn a lot about different aspects of life, its fun.
GE: Would you do something like this again?
EH: No, the reason to do this is because Ive never done it before and now there's no reason to do it again. So often in my career, Ive been asked to kind of play the moral center of a movie and I enjoy that, but Ive been looking to do something different.
GE: What was it like being someone who wasn't quite so good?
EH: I don't know. It's the joy of doing it and trying to figure all of that stuff out. It makes it kind of a fun character to play. It's not difficult and it's what I love to do, breaking things down.
GE: Does being a director help you be a better actor?
EH: For me, it helped me value acting. You realize when you direct how pointless it is to even make a movie with the wrong cast. For so many years Id bought into this line that film is a director's medium and directing really taught me how much the actors do contribute. It kind of heightened my knowledge of how I could better help directors that I was working with.
GE: You've had a ten year relationship with Richard Linklater. What's it like to work with him?
EH: Obviously you make five movies with someone, you must kind of enjoy it. I really believe in Rick. I think that he's a real original voice that we have in America and is really unique and the new film, Before Sunset, took us nine years to finally get made and it's a very, very simple film, but we've been dreaming of continuing the story. We just premiered it at Berlin and I felt really happy about how it went over. I really love the movie and something was fun about doing a sequel to such a small little film.
GE: How much was scripted in Before Sunset?
EH: Its all scripted. I mean, the whole idea of Before Sunset is kind of an experiment. Can you have the whole movie be one conversation, can you sustain that? I mean, the Before Sunset screenplay wouldn't get through one screenplay class, but the same was true of the first film. Whereas this film is kind of oriented in the structure of a genre and it just couldn't be more different. That movie is an exercise in naturalism. This is a stylized thriller. The Linklater film isn't naturalistic in that it's nothing. The whole idea of that movie is to make you think that the thing is improvised, that we're just sitting there talking and it's a very difficult thing to achieve, but Im glad that it seems like that.
GE: What kind of films did you like when you were growing up?
EH: I liked westerns.
GE: Any specific one?
EH: The Outlaw Josey Wales is probably my favorite movie. I loved all of the shows too, Bonanza, Rawhide, Big Valley and The Lone Ranger.
GE: Do you still watch them?
EH: No, not really. I still like a good western like Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and The Wild Bunch. Those great '70 westerns.
GE: Are you working on something right now, writing or directing wise?
EH: Yeah, Im always working on something. It's not in the immediate future but I might try and direct a movie in the fall. I'm always trying to write and Im not anywhere near close to being done with anything, but Im always trying to work on it. I have the great luxury of writing not being my livelihood. So it's not like Ive spent the money from the advance and I have to hand it in. I get to do it as I have something that I feel that I have to get off of my chest. Sometimes that happens in a consistent way and sometimes it doesn't. I know to be a really good writer, you have to force yourself into some kind of discipline about it but this year Ive been really kind of focused back on acting. My hope is that this summer to take a bunch of time off of from acting. I've been doing notes on a novel that I have an idea for. I hope to bust some out and get a first draft of it.
GE: So you're not the kind of guy who sits in his trailer wasting time away?
EH: No, but its still one thing at a time.
GE: Is it possible to treat your children equally?
EH: Yeah, it's possible. You don't treat them equally as in the exact same way but as long as they all feel equally loved and equally appreciated in their different ways. Before I had children, I thought that must be impossible, that you're definitely going to like one more than the other. But then the kids are all so different and I think that we all have plenty of love in our heart. It's not some finite amount that gets doled out.
GE: What's up for you now?
EH: I'm doing this movie called The Assault on Precinct 13 which is a remake. We're shooting that this spring in Toronto.
GE: Who's doing that?
EH: This French director [Jean-Franois Richet] has been developing it for a couple of years and it's with me, Laurence Fishburne and a bunch of other guys.
GE: Isn't that actually a remake of a western?
EH: Yeah Rio Bravo. So, it's a really good script and Im happy about that.
GE: Is there an identity that you'd like to steal from someone, if you could be someone else?
EH: George Bush and then Id blow my brains out. That's mean [laughs].
GE: Are you politically active?
EH: No.
GE: Not to any extent?
EH: You know, Ill probably get real involved when it's time. I don't know. It ebbs and flows as you get stirred up about different issues.
GE: How do you like raising your family in New York?
EH: Well, it has its ups and downs. You can get a great education here. I think that it's a hard place to be a teenager. I think that it can be a great place to grow up if you make sure that you have some rural experience as well. For us, it makes the most sense given who my children's parents are.
GE: With two working actors as parents, how do you work having kids out?
EH: It's just a constant negotiation. It's very difficult.
GE: When you look at this movie, is it tinged with a sense of it being an end of a relationship?
EH: No. Anyone who's been in a long relationship knows that it wasn't as clear as all of that. It's not like there was one event that led to the demise of our relationship or one period of time.
GE: There wasn't more sinned against than sinning or your fault or hers?
EH: It's much more complex than that.
GE: Youve said that it's hard to be married to a woman that's a movie star?
EH: Yeah. I think that what I was saying was its when two people are very ambitious. I always felt like a marriage works best at a farm where you are together and everyone has a real clear cut role. But our whole marriage was time negotiation so that means that someone is always away from town. It asks more of you and asks you to grow. You have to learn to mitigate your own ego, but it's challenging.
GE: What does it feel like now to be a father who has children going through that? Is it tough? Do you explain it? Or do you not even deal with it?
EH: Well, you have to deal with it. I don't know.
GE: Do you feel different as a father?
EH: Yes. I have nothing to say about it because it's a time period of transition for my whole family. I could maybe have something intelligent to say about it in fifteen years when I get to process it.
GE: Do you feel like you're coming back to normalness? There was an article in The New York Times where it said you looked emaciated.
EH: Well people do a lot of speculation. I was doing Henry IV in Lincoln Center and I had a shaved head so I looked pretty tough. Walk around with a shaved head and people think that you look insane.
GE: But you said that you hadn't been eating in one of the things that I read. Is that the divorce?
EH: I don't know. It's affective. The best diet Ive ever been on [laughs.] I mean, come on now. If you go through a lot of stress, you'll lose some weight. Try it. You'd lose weight too.
Now hes playing a role in a new erotic thriller that is traditionally given to women, the victim. In Taking Lives he is James Costa a man being stalked by serial killer who falls in love with FBI profiler Illeana Scott, played by Angelina Jolie.
The next year should be an exciting one for Hawke. He is playing a mobster in the remake of John Carpenters Assault on Precinct 13, he is starring in the sequel to Before Sunrise named appropriately Before Sunset and by this time next year his new book should be released.
Check out the website for Taking Lives
George Everit: I was talking to Angelina Jolie about your love scene and how you didn't take your suit off for it.
Ethan Hawke: Yes, that's very true. It was her idea, did she say that? I was grateful. You just try to look for a way to make these scenes seem strange.
GE: You're a writer and actor. Do you have a priority in terms of those two things?
EH: My life's priority is being a good father. That's a boring thing to say, but that's a daily thing. All of my professional life stems from acting. Acting has been my first love. Acting has taught me about writing, acting has taught me about directing, acting is my livelihood. So, that's obviously my first priority.
GE: Why do you like being an actor?
EH: One of the great advantages of being an actor, particularly over a long period of time, is getting to experience what it's like to have other jobs and be other people. I remember doing a movie called A Midnight Clear [released in 1992] which was a World War 2 movie I did when I was young. Doing all of the research about World War 2 and meeting veterans and doing that whole that thing was just such an insightful experience. Whenever people talk about World War 2, I feel like I have some knowledge because I wore those real costumes and ran around like that. The same thing with being a police officer because of all the work that we did on Training Day. Over any kind of period of time, you learn a lot about different aspects of life, its fun.
GE: Would you do something like this again?
EH: No, the reason to do this is because Ive never done it before and now there's no reason to do it again. So often in my career, Ive been asked to kind of play the moral center of a movie and I enjoy that, but Ive been looking to do something different.
GE: What was it like being someone who wasn't quite so good?
EH: I don't know. It's the joy of doing it and trying to figure all of that stuff out. It makes it kind of a fun character to play. It's not difficult and it's what I love to do, breaking things down.
GE: Does being a director help you be a better actor?
EH: For me, it helped me value acting. You realize when you direct how pointless it is to even make a movie with the wrong cast. For so many years Id bought into this line that film is a director's medium and directing really taught me how much the actors do contribute. It kind of heightened my knowledge of how I could better help directors that I was working with.
GE: You've had a ten year relationship with Richard Linklater. What's it like to work with him?
EH: Obviously you make five movies with someone, you must kind of enjoy it. I really believe in Rick. I think that he's a real original voice that we have in America and is really unique and the new film, Before Sunset, took us nine years to finally get made and it's a very, very simple film, but we've been dreaming of continuing the story. We just premiered it at Berlin and I felt really happy about how it went over. I really love the movie and something was fun about doing a sequel to such a small little film.
GE: How much was scripted in Before Sunset?
EH: Its all scripted. I mean, the whole idea of Before Sunset is kind of an experiment. Can you have the whole movie be one conversation, can you sustain that? I mean, the Before Sunset screenplay wouldn't get through one screenplay class, but the same was true of the first film. Whereas this film is kind of oriented in the structure of a genre and it just couldn't be more different. That movie is an exercise in naturalism. This is a stylized thriller. The Linklater film isn't naturalistic in that it's nothing. The whole idea of that movie is to make you think that the thing is improvised, that we're just sitting there talking and it's a very difficult thing to achieve, but Im glad that it seems like that.
GE: What kind of films did you like when you were growing up?
EH: I liked westerns.
GE: Any specific one?
EH: The Outlaw Josey Wales is probably my favorite movie. I loved all of the shows too, Bonanza, Rawhide, Big Valley and The Lone Ranger.
GE: Do you still watch them?
EH: No, not really. I still like a good western like Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and The Wild Bunch. Those great '70 westerns.
GE: Are you working on something right now, writing or directing wise?
EH: Yeah, Im always working on something. It's not in the immediate future but I might try and direct a movie in the fall. I'm always trying to write and Im not anywhere near close to being done with anything, but Im always trying to work on it. I have the great luxury of writing not being my livelihood. So it's not like Ive spent the money from the advance and I have to hand it in. I get to do it as I have something that I feel that I have to get off of my chest. Sometimes that happens in a consistent way and sometimes it doesn't. I know to be a really good writer, you have to force yourself into some kind of discipline about it but this year Ive been really kind of focused back on acting. My hope is that this summer to take a bunch of time off of from acting. I've been doing notes on a novel that I have an idea for. I hope to bust some out and get a first draft of it.
GE: So you're not the kind of guy who sits in his trailer wasting time away?
EH: No, but its still one thing at a time.
GE: Is it possible to treat your children equally?
EH: Yeah, it's possible. You don't treat them equally as in the exact same way but as long as they all feel equally loved and equally appreciated in their different ways. Before I had children, I thought that must be impossible, that you're definitely going to like one more than the other. But then the kids are all so different and I think that we all have plenty of love in our heart. It's not some finite amount that gets doled out.
GE: What's up for you now?
EH: I'm doing this movie called The Assault on Precinct 13 which is a remake. We're shooting that this spring in Toronto.
GE: Who's doing that?
EH: This French director [Jean-Franois Richet] has been developing it for a couple of years and it's with me, Laurence Fishburne and a bunch of other guys.
GE: Isn't that actually a remake of a western?
EH: Yeah Rio Bravo. So, it's a really good script and Im happy about that.
GE: Is there an identity that you'd like to steal from someone, if you could be someone else?
EH: George Bush and then Id blow my brains out. That's mean [laughs].
GE: Are you politically active?
EH: No.
GE: Not to any extent?
EH: You know, Ill probably get real involved when it's time. I don't know. It ebbs and flows as you get stirred up about different issues.
GE: How do you like raising your family in New York?
EH: Well, it has its ups and downs. You can get a great education here. I think that it's a hard place to be a teenager. I think that it can be a great place to grow up if you make sure that you have some rural experience as well. For us, it makes the most sense given who my children's parents are.
GE: With two working actors as parents, how do you work having kids out?
EH: It's just a constant negotiation. It's very difficult.
GE: When you look at this movie, is it tinged with a sense of it being an end of a relationship?
EH: No. Anyone who's been in a long relationship knows that it wasn't as clear as all of that. It's not like there was one event that led to the demise of our relationship or one period of time.
GE: There wasn't more sinned against than sinning or your fault or hers?
EH: It's much more complex than that.
GE: Youve said that it's hard to be married to a woman that's a movie star?
EH: Yeah. I think that what I was saying was its when two people are very ambitious. I always felt like a marriage works best at a farm where you are together and everyone has a real clear cut role. But our whole marriage was time negotiation so that means that someone is always away from town. It asks more of you and asks you to grow. You have to learn to mitigate your own ego, but it's challenging.
GE: What does it feel like now to be a father who has children going through that? Is it tough? Do you explain it? Or do you not even deal with it?
EH: Well, you have to deal with it. I don't know.
GE: Do you feel different as a father?
EH: Yes. I have nothing to say about it because it's a time period of transition for my whole family. I could maybe have something intelligent to say about it in fifteen years when I get to process it.
GE: Do you feel like you're coming back to normalness? There was an article in The New York Times where it said you looked emaciated.
EH: Well people do a lot of speculation. I was doing Henry IV in Lincoln Center and I had a shaved head so I looked pretty tough. Walk around with a shaved head and people think that you look insane.
GE: But you said that you hadn't been eating in one of the things that I read. Is that the divorce?
EH: I don't know. It's affective. The best diet Ive ever been on [laughs.] I mean, come on now. If you go through a lot of stress, you'll lose some weight. Try it. You'd lose weight too.
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
marksplatter:
seeing him in hamlet was awesome- i love that movie, he was perfect. i didnt know the bit about rio bravo. cool interivew!
mckenzie:
The things id do to this sexy man!