Ever since bursting onto our screens as Todd Anderson in Dead Poets Society in 1986, Ethan Hawke has transfixed audiences, appearing in Training Day and Boyhood (both of which won him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), Reality Bites and Gattaca, and more recently The Black Phone and The Northman. He’s received two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, too (for Before Sunset and Before Midnight, but as you’re about to read, is dismissive of these accolades, saying that “every superficial triumph as a stamp of mediocrity”.
Throughout this interview, which coincides with his appearance in the campaign for Haider Ackermann’s first capsule collection for Canada Goose, you’ll discover Hawke’s deep love of cinema, and the arts more broadly – which is perhaps one of the reasons for his longevity. It’s this that comes across so powerfully in one of my personal favourite on-screen appearances of Hawke’s – his 2020 Ted Talk titled Give yourself permission to be creative, which expounds on the power of artistic expression. (It’s well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it already.)
So, without any further ado, here are 50 questions with the great Ethan Hawke. We touch on his career, co-stars and upcoming film with the two Pedros (Pascal and Almodóvar), as well as that viral photo of him chatting to Rihanna at a basketball game, with many other tidbits besides.
1. Hi Ethan, thanks for agreeing to this interview. And a belated happy thanksgiving. Where did you celebrate? Like one half of America, I celebrated with my in-laws.
2. Do you have any holiday traditions? None in particular.
3. What do you eat for thanksgiving – the traditional setup? A large portion of my family is vegetarian, which makes the mealtime complicated because a different portion is NOT vegetarian.
4. When did you first meet Haider Ackermann? I met him on our photoshoot. He’s a brilliant man, a brilliant designer.
5. What was the campaign shoot like? It’s strange, it’s like everything else in life. People who are really good at what they do make it look easy. The photographer Willy Vanderperre was so talented and so prepared that it just couldn’t have been more simple or more fun.
6. What is your favourite thing about the collection? Like old 1950s cars, I love things that are both stylish and functional. Everything in the Snow Goose collection fits both of those criteria.
7. What is the most important thing you’ve wanted to teach your kids? Honesty.
8. What is the most important thing they’ve taught you? It doesn’t matter what you say, it matters what you do.
9. What’s it like seeing your daughter, Maya, become a successful actor and musician in her own right? I’ve known that she’s been a successful actor and musician in her own right since she was about four years old … So I’m pretty used to it.
10. What’s your favourite thing about New York? The people.
11. What’s the most New York thing about you? My love of theatre.
12. There was a viral tweet about you sitting next to Rihanna at a basketball game. Can you tell us what you were talking about? Why, the New York Knicks, of course!
13. Has your son forgiven you for switching seats? For the record, have you seen my son? I think he’s doing just fine.
14. I remember in your Ted Talk, you mentioned that you loved Allen Ginsberg’s poetry. Which is your favourite poem of his? Howl, obviously.
15. What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? The aurora borealis. A pack of wolves. Each of my children being born. The film Fanny and Alexander. The Grand Canyon at Sundown. Cherry from The Outsiders.
What is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen? The Aurora Borealis. A pack of wolves. Each of my children being born. The film Fanny and Alexander. The Grand Canyon at Sundown. Cherry from The Outsiders.
16. When did you fall in love with acting? I fell in love with acting when I played Dunois Paige in McCarter Theatre’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s St Joan. It was love at first sight.
17. What is your favourite thing about acting? Disappearing.
18. What is your favourite role that you’ve played? John Brown.
19. Which actors have had the biggest impact on you? Denzel Washington, Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Sally Hawkins.
20. What is the last film that made you cry? Planes, Trains and Automobiles. John Candy always makes me cry.
21. What is the last film that changed the way you look at the world? There are so many. That’s what I love about movies – any one that’s any good at all changes the way you look at the world. They’re empathy machines broadening our view of what our collective reality is. That said, I think the most recent one is Anora.
22. What is your favourite way to connect with nature? To run! Preferably on a trail outside.
23. What’s your greatest fear? An audience throwing tomatoes.
24. What is the greatest challenge you’ve had to overcome? By age 21 it was pretty obvious, from reading a lot of books, that I’ve never had any substantiative challenges.
25. How do you deal with criticism? Poorly.
26. What is your advice to someone who is experiencing creative block? Don’t think so much.
27. What is your advice to someone who is experiencing heartbreak? I don’t give advice, but Orson Welles once said of heartbreak, “It’s a lot like being seasick. You’re on the ledge puking and everyone else thinks it’s funny.”
28. What does romance mean to you? It’s a way of looking at the world.
29. Do you believe in love at first sight? As Lennon and McCartney told us, “Yes, I’m certain that it happens all the time?” Now, what do I see when I turn off the light? ... I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine.
30. Do you believe in God? I don’t believe in Santa Claus. But yes.
31. Do you believe in ghosts? Sometimes I think I am one.
32. Do you believe in aliens? I don’t think they care if I believe in them.
33. In Gattaca, you play a man who dreams of travelling to space. If you were offered the chance to actually do that, would you? Not if I couldn’t bring my family.
34. You’ve played Hamlet – is that your favourite Shakespeare play? My favourite is The Tempest.
35. You’ve also been in a contemporary film adaptation of Great Expectations – what is your favourite Charles Dickens character? The Artful Dodger.
Have you ever stolen anything from a set? Yes. I have stolen many cowboy hats, many cowboy boots, several belt buckles, and the hearts of a few actresses.
36. What is your standout memory from Dead Poets Society? Giving Peter Weir his lifetime achievement award at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
37. What do you remember about Robin Williams? He got me my agent.
38. What’s your favourite memory of working with Denzel Washington on Training Day? Every second.
39. I edit Another Man now and I remember in issue three of the magazine (back in 2005!) you said, “When I was young, wanting be famous was like saying you wanted to be mediocre … If you wanted to be fucking serious, like a great artist, you wanted to be obscure. If you were celebrated, you were obviously a phoney. That attitude doesn’t exist now, I don’t see that anymore. I meet all these young actors who are dying to be on magazine covers.” I’m curious to know what you think about that idea now? I’m so pleased that I said that! I agree with myself 100 per cent. I see every superficial triumph as a stamp of mediocrity.
40. In that interview, you also said you always wanted to be a journalist. Is that still true? What do you think you’d do if you weren’t an actor? I’m so surprised that I said that. It’s interesting because over the last few years I’ve made a couple of documentaries and I’ve realised that it’s a lot like being a journalist. I didn’t remember that was something I wanted to do, but clearly my documentary work is a manifestation of that secret aspiration.
41. What’s it been like working with Pedro Almodóvar and Pedro Pascal on Strange Way of Life? One of the hassles of working with two men named Pedro is I often text the wrong one!
42. How would you characterise the power dynamics in their relationship? I was less interested in the power dynamics between Jake and Silva as much as I was in how one defines love.
43. Have you ever stolen anything from a set? Yes. I have stolen many cowboy hats, many cowboy boots, several belt buckles, and the hearts of a few actresses.
44. What’s the best present you’ve ever received? In 1978, my father gave me a copy of The Hobbit.
45. What’s the greatest compliment you’ve ever received? One of my early film reviews referred to me as, “Ethan Hawke – with teeth like an Englishman …” I’m not sure what they meant, but I’ve always loved British actors.
46. You’ve been nominated for four Oscars – what does that feel like? See Question 39 above.
47. If you could go back in time and say one thing to your 13-year-old self, what would it be? Don’t sweat the acne, buddy. It goes away.
48. If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? Ralph Waldo Emerson.
49. What are you reading right now? I just finished The North Woods by Daniel Mason. It’s absolutely incredible.
50. Finally, what’s the one book you could read again and again and again? Anna Karenina.
