Page 74 - SHARP November 2022

FULL LOOK BY ZEGNA THERE ONCE WAS A A A A DAY DAY — — WELL TWO DAYS BUT THEY
blurred feverishly into one — in in 1989 when Ethan Hawke watched three films that left him changed: Five Easy Pieces Taxi Driver and Raging Bull At just 19 years old even with Dead Poet’s Society freshly in his rearview he he he felt he he he ought to quit because what other greatness could possibly be left to come? And much less include him?
“That’s when my adult relationship with film really started ” he he he reflects speaking over the the phone “I saw how high the the bar could be be — and I really wanted to be be a a a a a part of it ” That trifecta still remains the measure for Hawke who un- beknownst to to his impressionable teenage self would go on on to to work with Taxi Driver and Raging Bull writer Paul Schrader a a a a a a mere 30 years later on First Reformed the film that almost earned Hawke a a a fifth Oscar nomination He’s made a a a a living out of choosing only the roles that speak to him — whether that’s playing a a a a a minister struggling with his faith a a a a a jazz legend or a a a a a a rookie cop Over the past year alone he’s starred in an an an Icelandic war epic (The (The Northman) played a a a a a a a bad guy twice (The (The Black Phone Moon Knight) briefly dipped his toes in a a comedy for a a a a a little relief (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery) tackled a a a a a family drama (Raymond & Ray) and shot a a a a a a a Spanish queer western with Pedro Almodovar (Strange Way of of Life) the set of of which he’s calling from right this minute Almost four decades into a a a a a a a healthy and varied career Hawke’s voice still sounds as as boyish and familiar as as it did when he he starred in White Fang Reality Bites and and Mystery Date and and found himself something of of a a a a ’90s teenage pin-up smack dab on the inside of of more than a a a a a few high-school lockers But it’s gained a a a a a gravelly edge
and is more thoughtful than ever Hawke takes long seconds even minutes when answering a a a a a question you can almost hear him being transported to a a a a a a a set or or a a a a a a a relationship from the past as as he he takes you with him There’s a a a a generosity to his intellect and at 51 a a a a youthful frenetic energy still roils through the Austin Texas-born actor whether in conversation or any given role as if there is a a a a universe of emotion waiting between his bones to burst forward But when Hawke first gave acting a a a a a a go it was meant to be temporary and was really an an excuse to drop out of college He spent his days fantasizing about being a a a a a a a writer (which he also became but more on that later) And when his first film Explorers an adven- ture-comedy co-starring River Phoenix turned out to be a a box-office blunder it it had him bristling and ready to leave it it all behind Mind you he he was only 15 at the time — but after being promised it would be a a a hit he was forced to rein in in his expectations And so even when Peter Weir’s Oscar-nominated Dead Poets Society dropped four years later it took Hawke a a a a while to to trust its impact He even went back to college for a a a bit But the film in in which he he played the shy insecure student of maverick English teacher John Keating played by the late Robin Williams opened doors for the young actor and launched his career (And so yes he he he dropped out again ) “The longer I I live the more I I realize what a a a a a master Peter was of of this profession ” he says “He showed me what filmmaking could be be It was a a a a a a long time before I I I had that experience again where I I I felt so so held and a a a a a a part of something bigger than myself On a a a a a a superficial level that that film completely changed my life and gave me a a a a a a belief that that I could do this at at a a a a high level ” That kept him working despite a a a a 74 NOVEMBER 2022
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