Dead Poets Society’s Josh Charles Thought Ethan Hawke was “punking” him About Starring in Taylor Swift’s Video
Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department has once again taken over the world. The album’s leading single, Fortnight featuring Post Malone, is topping the charts. The album is being regarded as one of the most personal albums due to its storytelling factors.
The music video for the song has been a topic of discussion. Not only is it visually appealing, but it also surprises fans with appearances by Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, known for their roles in the classic 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. Their cameos have been liked by viewers, adding a touch of nostalgia and mystery to the visuals of the song.
By honoring the film that kicked off their careers, Swift’s decision to add an Easter egg in the presence of both actors from the movie was a genius move. Moreover, Swifties are always excited about the story behind this collaboration.
Josh Charles Couldn’t Believe He Was in Taylor Swift’s Fortnight
Josh Charles reveals that Swift approached Ethan Hawke’s elder daughter, Maya Hawke, in order to connect with him and then Charles. In a recent interview on The Tonight Show, Charles said,
“Taylor knows Ethan’s daughter, Maya, and reached out to her. Obviously the title of the album is Tortured Poets Department, so I think it’s obviously a little tip of the cap to ‘Dead Poets Society’…other tortured poets… and she probably had this idea it would be interesting for us to be in the video.”
For Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, getting back together on Fortnight music video set was like a dream. Although Charles initially thought his long-time friend and co-star was joking when he invited him at first. In the same interview, Charles revealed what his reaction was when Hawke first reached out to him about the project. He said,
“She then reached out to Ethan, and Ethan reached out to me. Once I got over thinking he was punking me, you know, when he first called me, I said, ‘Dude, are you bulls—ting me? Because if you’re f—ing with me right now….”
However, after realizing that Hawke’s invitation was genuine and not a practical joke, Charles understood the seriousness of the project. He then said,
“He (Hawke) was like, ‘This is dead serious. And we talked about it, and I talked to her people and it seemed like such a fun idea.”
As interesting as their reunion story sounds, their involvement in the music video was kept a secret. Not even their kids had any idea when their fathers were going to meet Taylor Swift. Hawke even revealed that his daughters were disappointed when they got to know about the whole scenario much later.
Josh Charles Appreciated Taylor Swift as a Director
Despite the fact that Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles’s participation in the Fortnight music video has been getting quite a bit of buzz, the true creative force behind this extraordinary piece of cinema is none other than Taylor Swift herself. In addition to being the star of the video, Swift has directed the MV and put her imaginative vision on display as she herself wrote the script of the video with attention to every detail.
Swift shared on her Instagram post the symbolic gestures and the Easter eggs in the video which were designed for the fans especially to dig into the deeper meaning of the video. She wrote,
“When I was writing the ‘Fortnight’ music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music. Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another.”
The music video was purposefully shot in black and white by Oscar-winning filmmaker Rodrigo Prieto in order to increase the impact of the song. Recalling his time on set, Charles appreciated Swift’s professionalism as a director. He said on The Tonight Show,
“She’s an incredible director, my favorite kind of director because she knows what she wants. When she’s got it, she’s got it”
“If any of you ever get to meet her, your fandom for her will just go up through the roof. She’s just such a genuine, cool, approachable person. And that’s nice to see because that’s not always the case.”
The music video is a diary of Swift’s album themes. Swift and Post Malone portrayed the dying romance of a couple who need a new direction in their relationship in order to connect. From the mental hospital to the office to an emotionally charged, highly memorable electroshock therapy scene, Swift successfully leads the viewers into a hypnotic realm.
