Ethan Hawke feels 'grateful' for Richard Linklater's support
Ethan Hawke has revealed why he loves working with acclaimed director Richard Linklater.
Ethan Hawke feels "grateful" that Richard Linklater still wants to work with him.
The 54-year-old actor has made nine movies with the acclaimed filmmaker, and Ethan is thrilled that they've maintained a strong relationship over so many years.
He told The Hollywood Reporter at the Berlin Film Festival: "It feels like it’s been a 30-year conversation.
"I met him one night after he came to see a play I was in and we talked till four in the morning. That was 30 years ago. And we just keep talking and these movies come out of that."
Ethan has reunited with Richard, 64, to star in 'Blue Moon', the new biographical drama film. And the actor has admitted to being slightly surprised that the filmmaker still wants to work with him.
Ethan shared: "I find it so surprising that Linklater still wants to work with me.
"He’s spent years of his life, editing my performances. He must be bored s******* looking at me. I feel so grateful that he’s remotely interested in still working with me. So I feel a great obligation to try to deliver."
Richard observed that they both challenge each other during filming.
The award-winning director admitted that he was "there to crack the whip" on the set of 'Blue Moon'.
He shared: "There were points, during the filming when he said to me: I’m hitting the limit of my talent here, this is so demanding.
"I was there to crack the whip and keep pushing. Our relationship is we push each other and everybody around us."
Ethan admitted that he found making 'Blue Moon' to be a "challenging" experience.
The Hollywood star - who previously worked with Richard on movies such as 'Boyhood' and 'Before Sunset' - explained: "It’s amazing, amazing dialogue, and the lines are just delicious to say, but at the same time, is it challenging to have this very long, real-time performance.
"But Rick said he wanted the whole movie to feel like a Rogers and Hart song, that it should have the same bounce and rhythm changes and dynamics, be heartbreaking then funny and silly then smart and then strange. So I kind of thought of the whole thing like lyrics to a song."
Meanwhile, Ethan previously voiced his admiration for actors and actresses who prioritise art over profit.
The 'Dead Poets Society' star told The Hollywood Reporter: "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 - and most of all our favourite movies, that’s not what was motivating the project.
"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."
