The unlikely actor Ethan Hawke called his comedy hero: “I loved how funny he was”
At one point or another, throughout a genuinely enviable career, Ethan Hawke has seen it all. After making his breakthrough acting performance in Peter Wier’s Dead Poets Society, Hawke set about becoming a true icon of Hollywood, although he’s as known in big blockbuster movies as he is in smaller independent projects.
Among some of the Texas-born actor’s most notable efforts are the likes of Training Day, Boyhood, the Before trilogy with Richard Linklater, Gattaca,Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead and The Northman, showing the kind of versatility that he has shown throughout much of his career, which largely took off in the 1990s.
Despite all the acclaimed roles that Hawke has taken on throughout his career, it’s fair to say that comedy has never been at the top of his list of priorities. Interestingly, though, the actor has a deep love for comedy, particularly the works of the Hollywood legend Warren Beatty, who left a deep impression on Hawke when he was younger.
“It’s a funny question because when I started acting, I loved Warren Beatty,” Hawke once revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone. “And I loved how funny he was. People like to talk about Warren Beatty like a matinee idol or something, but he’s so funny, from Shampoo and Heaven Can Wait; he’s even hysterical in Reds.”
Beatty had starred in a number of dramatic roles, although his efforts in the movies that Hawke mentioned went to show how he could take on a wide range of acting roles. For instance, his performance in Shampoo, as a womanising hairdresser helped to provide a hilarious critique of the superficial nature of Hollywood.
In Heaven Can Wait, Beatty’s performance was somewhat lighter in tone, although its slapstick moments made a huge impression on Hawke. Beatty was capable of finding humour in the most absurd and dramatic parts of the human experience, and though his comedy roles are often overshadowed by his more dramatic efforts, he would always occupy a place close to Hawke’s heart.
Despite not being involved in a huge amount of comedy movies, Hawke still wishes that he might have, although he admitted that there is a difference in comedy taste that explains why he did not take on many comedy projects. “I always imagined that I would do more comedy, and the fact that I haven’t represents a lot about the way that comedies have been made in my era,” Hawke said.
The actor added, “The thing about comedy right now is that it’s a little broad. The old-fashioned kind of Preston Sturges comedies, the ones that I could see myself in, weren’t happening — or, I don’t know, maybe I’m not good enough. But I love comedy.”
In fact, Hawke said that one of the large reasons that the Before trilogy that he made with Richard Linklater and Julie Delpy comes down to its funnier moments.
“Part of the secret sauce of the Before trilogy is how funny Julie Delpy is,” Hawke said. “You don’t think of those movies as comedies, but they’re very funny. A lot of what I’ve done in my career I’ve felt has used comedy.” So, while Hawke hasn’t exactly become known as a direct comedy actor, the truth is that he feels he has been in moments that emulate his hero, Warren Beatty.
