Ethan Hawke: "My Family Weren't Invited"

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Ethan Hawke is giving the performance of a lifetime in brand new Richard Linklater directed biographical drama Blue Moon.  Ethan plays Lorenz Hart in this touching tale of the American lyricis and his, struggles with alcoholism and mental health during the opening of "Oklahoma!".    Ethan told us what is was like to submerge himself in the role, even telling his family he was going away for a month!    Blue Moon is out in cinemas on Friday 28th November.  Report by Jonesl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn

Transcript

00:00This is the first time my family wasn't invited.

00:02I was very aware of the chance I had.

00:04I promise you.

00:06How are you today?

00:07I'm good, how are you?

00:08Very well.

00:09Can I just say, I will eat my metaphorical hat

00:12if you guys are not sweeping the Oscars.

00:14It was unbelievable.

00:16I sat down for 20 minutes and thought,

00:18I thought Ethan Hawke was in this, for God's sake.

00:20Didn't I promise you?

00:22I was looking around at him thinking,

00:23I'm in the wrong one, I'm in the wrong one.

00:25It's not in it.

00:27Is that a goal?

00:28Was that good to hear?

00:29Yeah, that's wonderful to hear.

00:30We needed Larry, to get Larry,

00:32we had to kind of disappear Ethan,

00:33which was, we've worked together a bunch,

00:35but that was the first time we ever,

00:37the part demanded this kind of physical transformation.

00:41So that was a new twist for us.

00:43Yeah, it was just unbelievable.

00:45But was the song in your head a lot?

00:46Was it?

00:47Because I go around and around,

00:48because I kept singing it,

00:49and I thought, I want to hear more of it.

00:50It's a lot of songs.

00:51There were a lot of songs.

00:52We had the whole Rodgers and Hart songbook

00:54going in our head and making this movie.

00:56Yeah, I just love, just love the whole era.

00:58I love the theater.

00:59I just loved all of it.

01:00I'll stop saying how much I loved it, though.

01:02Let's talk about-

01:02Don't.

01:03Yeah.

01:03No, please don't.

01:04And performance of a lifetime, Ethan,

01:06do you think it was as well?

01:08Because you must watch it back and think,

01:10God, I'm actually pretty good at this.

01:12You know, actors, we're only as good as our opportunities,

01:18you know, and when you get an opportunity like this,

01:23it's really exciting.

01:25You know, it wasn't lost on me looking at the material,

01:27thinking, all right, I could scroll through lists

01:30of performers that have really excited me

01:33through my lifetime and think,

01:34wow, if they had an opportunity like this,

01:36they would really seize it.

01:38So you have to ask yourself, like, all right,

01:40well, what am I willing to do?

01:41And how will I take this opportunity?

01:45So I was very aware of the chance I had.

01:47It's an amazing character,

01:50really complex character with so many dynamics at play.

01:54And so that was not lost on me.

01:58Yeah.

01:59Well, it was fun to have a front row seat

02:00to Ethan pushing himself to this extreme.

02:03It was like what was required for the movie,

02:06but to see Ethan just going for it in that way.

02:10Because there was no other way to do that.

02:11Well, I got to chat to Daniel Day-Lewis this week

02:14because he's an absolute legend.

02:15He lives his character.

02:18Did you finally took him home?

02:19Did your family go, can you stop?

02:21Larry, come back, come back.

02:23You know, I've been doing this since I was a kid

02:25and I can develop a kind of ease with it

02:29that I work towards.

02:31I don't want to, I want it to be easy, you know?

02:34I want it to be playful and joyous.

02:37But this is the first time my family wasn't invited

02:40in a long time.

02:41I knew that.

02:43Yeah, it was all in.

02:44I knew it had to be a monastic experience.

02:47You know, I didn't want them around for it.

02:50I had no brain space to not be Larry.

02:54There wasn't enough time.

02:55Was it air mode phone at night time?

02:57Was it, you know, people wondering where you were?

03:00Yeah, I told everybody that I'd see you in a month and a half.

03:03Oh, wow.

03:04Yeah.

03:05That's dedication, isn't it?

03:06I love that.

03:07Well, it doesn't happen.

03:08You don't often, the problem with making movies

03:12is it's not as good as you can make it.

03:15It's as good as you can make it today.

03:17There's this, you can never return to this moment.

03:20It has to be executed today.

03:23And we shot it in three weeks.

03:25So you just, you know,

03:27you weigh around a bar pretty well now, guys, do you?

03:30Yeah, I just thought it was really clever

03:33the way that it was just there.

03:35It was just so, I say simple.

03:37Is that good to hear that it was simple?

03:38It looked simple.

03:39It was minimal.

03:41It's one location, but it's not one set, really.

03:44That bar is a multifaceted place.

03:46There's a bathroom, there's a coat check room,

03:48there's an entryway.

03:49The bar is obviously a big part.

03:50But, you know, we kind of danced around that place

03:52the way you would explore a space.

03:55You know, when you go out in an evening

03:56and you go to a place and you don't think,

03:59oh, it was only in one place tonight.

04:00No, it's a pretty dynamic place.

04:01So we were just trying to get that feel.

04:03Yeah, it was brilliant, like a labyrinth.

04:05A bar labyrinth.

04:06Everyone's asking about your height in this.

04:08What do you want people to ask you?

04:09What haven't they asked you yet?

04:11Something you can tell us that...

04:12Oh, guys, I don't have an agenda about that.

04:14I think it's wonderful

04:17when people can experience Larry Hart.

04:22Part of, my job was to play Larry Hart.

04:24Rick's job was to feature Larry Hart.

04:26Bobby Cannavale is supporting Larry Hart.

04:28Andrew Scott is...

04:29They were all supporting...

04:30The film is this portrait of this man.

04:32And we needed all of us to do it.

04:35And so the film, to me, is a victory when you feel him.

04:39When it creates a feeling in you.

04:42And I think the film's successful at doing that.

04:45And you are idols to a lot of people, which is amazing.

04:48Who is your idol?

04:50And has it changed as you've kind of got older

04:52and got more experience in this world of film?

04:56Oh, gosh, it's so...

04:58We're lifetime devotees to this profession, right?

05:01Yeah.

05:02So there's a lot of idols.

05:04Yeah, no one idol.

05:06Somebody in my life, just to jump off when I think about it,

05:10is when I first started, I really...

05:14Dead Poets Society came out when I was 18.

05:16And I kind of looked around, I was like,

05:18who started at...

05:19Who had success at 18 who turned into an actor I would want to be?

05:24You know?

05:25And Jeff Bridges left to mind.

05:28The Last Picture Show is one of my favorite movies.

05:31And he's really amazing in it.

05:33And he's been consistent throughout his life.

05:35And I really admired him.

05:39So he's somebody that I look to as to know that this water can be sailed.

05:45Maybe you could play him in a biopic that you could produce and direct.

05:49That's right.

05:50Good.

05:51Thank you very much indeed, guys.

05:52I didn't...

05:53You didn't get time.

05:54Yeah, I know.

05:54There's too many guys.

05:55Just quick, quick name.

05:57Oh, gosh.

05:58Well, with Nouvelle Vague.

06:00Yeah.

06:01His other film here at the London Film Festival is incredible.

06:03We'll be here about Jean-Luc Godard and the Nouvelle Vague of France films of the late 50s, early 60s.

06:10Great moment.

06:11Well, people will be studying you guys soon, I'm sure.

06:13It's incredible.

06:14I loved it.

06:14Thank you so much.

06:15I've told everyone to watch it, by the way.

06:16Oh, thanks so much.

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