Los Angeles, February 27 – Hollywood actor Ethan Hawke has revealed the most challenging role in his filmography. Hawke considers his role in "Blue Moon" to be one of the toughest of his career.
The 55-year-old actor has enjoyed significant success in Hollywood, starring in films such as "Dead Poets Society," "Training Day," and "Boyhood," but Hawke admits that playing lyricist Lorenz Hart in the biopic was particularly challenging, according to "Female First UK."
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hawke said, "There have been a few roles that have been extremely challenging. It was just one of the few jobs that required me to use everything I had learned over the years, from the physical aspects to the vocal work, to the movement work, to the dialogue, to the text, and to the ideas we were trying to communicate. It was not an easy task."
Hawke credited director Richard Linklater with helping him to find his character's "voice." Hawke said, "When you become a professional actor, there's a strong emphasis on always staying within the same boundaries. You stop letting yourself explore different roles, and that's where the best things happen. So, I really appreciated that Rick gave me the opportunity to step out of the ordinary and find a voice that matched his wit, his energy, and his soul – or, as I put it, his unique personality. And, I was able to make all that language feel authentic."
According to "Female First UK," Hawke actually worked on his character during a series of workshops over several years, and he enjoyed developing the character with the help of Richard.
He shared, "It really all came down to my friendship with Linklater. We would just read the script and work on it. We would talk about Larry, about the people we knew who were like him, or about the film's themes, and we would discuss what he might be thinking. Then, we would share recordings and ask each other, 'What do you think of this line? Where does it come from?' And, we started to see the film as a Rodgers and Hart song, like, 'What if we made a movie that was a 90-minute Rodgers and Hart song?' In many ways, Rick's job was to create the structure and the framework, just like Richard Rodgers would for a song, and my job was to write the lyrics to complement it and bring it to life."
"What's so powerful about their music is that it combines strength, gravitas, and silliness. And, when you can be both silly and profound, it's a magical experience," he added.