Ethan Hawke Talks About the Rarity of a Filmmaker Like THE NORTHMAN Director Robert Eggers
Ethan Hawke has had an incredibly successful career as an actor ever since he made his debut in the 1985 film Explorers. Over the course of his career, he’s worked with a ton of different directors and he knows the kind of filmmaker that he likes to collaborate with.
He most recently worked with director Robert Eggers on the insane-looking Viking revenge film The Northman and working on this production was a new and great experience for Hawke. In a recent interview with The New Yorker, the actor likened his experience of working with Eggers to the production of Apocalypse Now, but in a good way. He said:
"So much of moviemaking is people trying to sell you something. I've spent my life wondering, Will I ever get to be on a set that feels like 'Apocalypse Now?' You know, like, somebody's trying. They have the balls, and the hubris and the arrogance to say, 'I want to make a masterpiece. I'm going to write a movie about Vikings with an Icelandic poet. And shoot it in a way that a film has never been choreographed before.' So, for me, just seeing somebody take a swing like that, you know, it's like a jump off a high dive."
That sounds like high praise! That sounds like the kind of director that any actor would want to work with. Hawke goes on to say that directors like Eggers are an incredibly rare breed. In a separate interview with Total Film, he said:
"It was awesome. It's incredibly rare to see someone strive for the level of excellence that Robert strives [for]. The level of discipline and aspirations were sky high. It's fun sometimes to watch somebody swing for the fences. Robert wasn't trying to make a good movie. He was trying to make a phenomenal work of art. I mean, he was pressing himself and all of us to the limit. And frankly, I just loved it."
I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see Hawke and Eggers team up for another film project one day. Eggers has an awesome style, and he’s known for his attention to detail and historical accuracy in the films he’s made including The Witch and The Lighthouse.
The Northman is set at the turn of the 10th century in Iceland, and the story explores how far a Viking prince will go to get revenge for his murdered father. The cast also includes Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, Björk, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson.
The Northman will be released in theaters on April 22nd.