An Interview with Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke seems like a new man in many ways, and it's not just about the different direction he's taken as an actor in his upcoming movie, Assault On Precinct 13...

Ethan plays a gritty cop holed up in a station house under attack in Assault On Precinct 13. The traumatic dissolution of his marriage to Uma Thurman last year may have had a lot to do with his interesting personality transformation on screen. A kind of mad-at-the-world attitude in the movie also seems to be connected to his feelings about the prying media all through the heartache of his break-up. There's a decidedly new tendency to throw himself into his work, perhaps as a kind of emotional distraction. But no matter what, Ethan is upbeat about declaring his continued appreciation of women, especially all those sexy co-stars in his movies.

You've been lucky to have some beautiful leading ladies in your recent movies!
You know, that's the great thing, if you get to be lucky enough to be successful as an actor in movies. Then you get to work with a lot of sexy actresses. I don't know, its been a great luxury of my life, to get to meet so many... interesting women!

How do you feel about the hits you've been taking in the media about your personal life?
It doesn't mean anything to me, one way or the other. You know, what people view about me. I think anybody who has a notoriety, or a certain celebrity at the age of 18, you're gonna watch that human being go through different things. If you get famous when you're 35 or 40, when you've figured out who you are as a human being, once you know who you really are and what you believe in, then other people aren't watching your maturation process. But I've had to mature as a human being, while people are watching me.

Are you angry with the media after all that?
Yeah, last year. That was one of the hardest periods of my life. But I'm glad to be through with it.

How do you think you've managed to survive it all, and did you ever think of quitting acting?
Oh yeah. For sure. But I don't know why I've been able to survive. A part of it is maybe because I maintain my love of what I do, and that trips people up. But that's something I have to work hard at doing.

Do you think those personal changes you've gone through in your life affected your work?
Yeah. Don't they with everybody? If you're in the arts, as corny as it sounds, your life is the stuff you work with, you know? That's why it's important to live a lot. And my children affect me a lot. Friends of mine will say that after Training Day there was some kind of change in my work. And I chalk a lot of that up to simply my own life. And turning 30. All those things affected me. You learn things in life, and you apply them to everything. Like in a way, when I was 25, I don't think I would have been interested in making this movie.

How come?
It was too important to me to try to figure out who I was. I didn't want to be in anything that was perceived as simply a commercial venture, you know? And my taste has kind of expanded, as I've grown up. Also, if I were 22, this part would have been really stupid. You know, the protagonist does not behave like a hero all the time. He has problems. That makes it infinitely more interesting to play.

What do you see as the secret behind your staying power as an actor?
I think a lot of the younger actors get into trouble because they're in a hurry, and they end up burning themselves out. It's as simple as that, often.

Do you always choose movies where it's snowing, or is that just a coincidence? You know, Dead Poets Society, Snow Falling On Cedars, White Fang, Midnight Clear, Alive, and now this one.
Yes, I think so! My theory on that is, when the directors read a script and they see snow, it somehow conjures an image of me, and then they want to cast me in it! Yeah, a bunch of snow pictures. But that's my own particular niche. I don't think anybody else can claim that!

How about mainstream police thrillers as a new niche for you, now with Assault On Precinct 13, Taking Lives and Training Day under your belt?
Uh, no! But after Training Day, I was looking for another one like that. I liked the experience of that movie. So I was looking for another script that might feel like, you know, another '70s action movie.

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