Ethan Hawke talks up his relationship with Richard Linklater, acting & life

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Ever since I caught Ethan Hawke in DEAD POETS SOCIETY when I was a little guy, I've followed his career with great interest. Nowadays he proves to be one of Hollywood's most reliable actors, turning in rock-solid performances left and right. The Academy recognized this by throwingn him a Best Supporting Actor nod for his turn in Richard Linklater's BOYHOOD. The two have worked together before with great success in the BEFORE trilogy and TAPE, among others. The dude's no slouch as you can find his second collaboration with the the Spierig brothers (DAYBREAKERS), playing in limited theaters and on-demand in the form of the fantastic Sci-Fi flick, PREDESTINATION.  His most recent collaboration with Andrew Niccol (GATTACA, LORD OF WAR), GOOD KILL, is also coming out later this year. The Hawke took to Reddit today to talk up some of his work and a bit about life. You can check out the whole deal here but I've included some highlights for you below.

Ethan Hawke on his frequent cinematic relationship with Richard Linklater:

It's a little bit of a mystery, and I'm scared to talk about it, because I don't understand it. I remember when I first met him, I was in a play with one of the cast members of DAZED & CONFUSED. DAZED hadn't come out yet, but Rick and I started talking after the performance, and all of a sudden, 6 or 7 hours went by. And that doesn't happen very often. And we've been kind of talking like that for 20 years now. Perhaps it's cuz… we have a similar background? Perhaps a shared obsession with time? But really, in truth, I don't know and I try not to ask because I just want to keep doing it.

The most difficult aspect of filming BOYHOOD:

Being patient. I… from about 3 or 4 years in, realized that this was the most special endeavor of my life. And in the last 12 years that we were making it, there have been many ups and downs in my career. And sometimes, when I would have a down period, in the back of my mind, I would never let myself get too down, cuz I was working on the best film of my life. I just had to be patient and wait for people to see it.

Ethan Hawke on making GATTACA with Andrew Niccol:

Well, of course I remember making GATTACA. And my relationship with everybody involved was about as good as it gets! I fell in love and married Uma and had 2 children, and I made 2 movies with Andrew Niccol, and let's tell the truth, it was about one of the best debut performances of the last 20 years, Jude Law's. I knew from the moment he screen-tested that a star was being born. He's a magnificent performer. In fact, the only thing like it I've ever seen in Sarah Snook in PREDESTINATION. I had the same feeling working with Sarah that I did with Jude, which was…thrilling. To be in the presence of a young person who was already a fully actualized artist. Andrew Niccol and I made a film called GOOD KILL, that's going to come out in May, that explores the contemporary drone program. (It's really good).

Regarding the most interesting people he's had dinner with:

Tell you what. It's pretty interesting to have dinner with my 16 year old daughter, and my 13 year old son. They're growing up at such a fascinating moment in time. And how they see the world is so different than me… and yet, we're so similar in so many obvious ways, I mean, we share much of the same DNA. I can see the future in them.

And I begin to understand what older people have been talking about my whole life.

I find that Ethan Hawke usually turns in such a natural performance and when it comes to his Linklater collaborations, I have a hard time separating the character from the actor. Perhaps that's a testament to Linklater's writing, Hawke's acting, or both. For what it's worth, Hawke also did mention that Criterion is trying to get the rights to release the entire BEFORE trilogy, if they can make it through the legal tape (since each film was made with a different company). Regardless of whether or not Hawke wins Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars this year, he's sure to turn in some great performances down the road.

Check out his award-nominated performance in BOYHOOD, now on Blu-ray/DVD.