“I feel slightly disappointed that I’m not…”: Ethan Hawke’s Genuine Confession About Harry Potter and Star Wars Proves He’s the Most Relatable Celebrity in Hollywood

At 53 years of age and four Academy Award nominations, Ethan Hawke is one of the highly acclaimed Hollywood artists. Additionally, apart from making his mark in independent films, the actor has also rubbed shoulders with mega-franchises like that of the MCU, playing Arthur Harrow in 2022’s Moon Knight.

In fresh talks, The Purge star shared his personal experience of enjoying cinema both as an audience member, and as an actor. Moreover, he compared his immediate state of mind after watching a big-budget sci-fi franchise production to that of a grounded project like one of Richard Linklater’s movies. Coming from an entertainment veteran, the statements appear to uphold every cinema-goer’s experience.

Ethan Hawke shares his ‘disappointment’ with Star Wars and Harry Potter films

One thing that is common with all major franchise flicks coming under various banners of Star Wars, Harry Potter, or comic book movies is that they usually contain elements of fantasy. Built upon years of lore, the inclusion of magic, lightsabers, gadgets, and suits, make such movies appealing and often leave fans wanting to experience the same in reality.

Interacting with the audience at the Venice Film Festival, Ethan Hawke voiced exactly this sentiment, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

If you go see Harry Potter or Star Wars or something, which I’ve seen a million times, and I love them, but when they are over, I feel slightly disappointed that I’m not a wizard or a Jedi. And I walk through my life thinking, I wish I were a Jedi.

Continuing further, he noted that movies based on real-world scenarios and backdrops, such as Richard Linklater’s movies, feel more “connected”.

And when you see a Richard Linklater film, you walk out feeling, ‘well, I’ve done that. I’ve met a person, I’ve connected with another human being, and that was important, and that was magic.

The astute observations come even when the actor has expressed his desire to be a part of the Star Wars universe. Speaking on the Today show in 2023, Hawke had quipped, “I’ll do whatever they want. Give me a lightsaber, I’ll be a bad guy, I’ll be a good guy. I don’t care.” Nonetheless, his true-to-self thoughts resonated with a majority of the audience as he moved on to talk about his next project.

Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater took 12 years for Blue Moon

Famed for his recent Glen Powell outing, Hit Man, Richard Linklater boasts a long collaboration history with Ethan Hawke, going all the way back to 1995’s Before Sunrise. With nine projects together, the duo is all set for their next movie, Blue Moon, expected to drop in 2025. The biographical musical drama will have the Sinister star play the songwriter, Lorenz Hart.

In the same round of talks, Hawke shared how they waited more than a decade to begin working on the project despite the script being ready.

Richard is such a strange person. He sent me this script about 12 years ago, and I read it, and it was one of the best scripts I ever read.

The reason behind the delay was the director’s insistence to begin filming at the right time, which Hawke humorously explained as ‘when he was not as attractive anymore.’

He goes, ‘You’re still too attractive. We got to wait till you’re a little less attractive. I was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He said, ‘Just trust me, we’ll do is, let’s just put it in a drawer.

A recent appearance by the actor on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon convinced Linklater that it was finally time to get started on Blue Moon, the principal photography for which began earlier this year.