Ethan Hawke on why George Clooney reminds him of Paul Newman: “The first person I thought of”
Ethan Hawke has worked with the very best of the best. One of his earliest film roles was opposite Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. He has gone to share screen time with Denzel Washington, Nicolas Cage, and, of course, Julie Delpy in the Before trilogy.
When it came to directing the 2022 documentary series The Last Movie Stars, Hawke was spoilt for choice when it came to collaborators. This was a special project, though, as it was about his cinematic idol, Paul Newman, and his famously long marriage to fellow actor Joanne Woodward. In addition to archive footage and talking heads, Hawke also made use of fictionalised scenes depicting moments from the couple’s lives. This meant he had to find someone to play Newman, but luckily, he had just the person in mind.
“George Clooney was the first person I thought of for Paul,” the actor-turned-director told Roger Ebert. “There’s just very few people who have maintained that level of excellence at the top of our profession and I thought that he might have some insight into some of the things that Paul was saying, know what Paul was talking about.” Clooney, who had never worked with Hawke before, was eventually cast in the role. As for Woodward, she was played by The Truman Show and Kinsey star Laura Linney.
“Laura is a friend of Joanne,” Hawke said whilst explaining that choice. “Joanne was one of her great mentors. Laura speaks so beautifully about acting, and she’s such a great actor. I knew that those two were the perfect people to start with.” He revealed that he had also considered LaTanya Richardson, wife of Samuel L. Jackson, for the part. “I did my first play with her; she was directed by Joanne, and she’s married to Sam Jackson, a card-carrying movie star,” Hawke explained. “They’ve been married 40 years, so I thought she might have something to bring to it.”
Newman and Woodward’s marriage is considered one of the greatest and most sincere in Hollywood history. The Colour of Money icon divorced his first wife to be with Woodward, and they remained a couple for 50 years until his death in 2008. As of December 204, Woodward is still alive at the grand old age of 94. Unfortunately, she has been living with Alzheimer’s since 2007 and hasn’t made a public appearance since 2013.
Outside of Clooney and Linney, the series is jam-packed with other famous faces, some of whom play pivotal figures in the Newman-Woodward story. Bobby Cannavale plays Elia Kazan, legendary film director and producer, while Sam Rockwell features as Stuart Rosenberg, who made Cool Hand Luke. LaTanya Richardson did get a part in the end, playing Woodward’s aunt, Maude Brink, while Zoe Kazan (Elia’s granddaughter) plays Jackie Witte, Newman’s first wife. As for the talking heads, interviews were conducted with everyone from Martin Scorsese to James Ivory, David Letterman to Hawke’s own daughter, Maya.
Clooney does a brilliant job of bringing Newman’s natural charisma to the screen. The late star exuded presence like few other performers have ever managed to do, but the Ocean’s Eleven actor comes pretty close to replicating it. Hawke clearly put a lot of work into telling the story of his heroes, and judging by the great reviews The Last Movie Stars garnered, it was all worth it.
