“We felt like the biggest rockstars”: Ethan Hawke Was on the Ninth Cloud After Starring in Taylor Swift’s Music Video But His Teenage Daughters Quickly Humbled Him
Taylor Swift fever has undoubtedly taken over the world. Her new album The Tortured Poets Department, has been ruling the charts since it was released. Swift’s album is a subtle nod to the movie Dead Poets Society, which was released in 1989. Her new hit single, Fortnight also draws inspiration from the movie. The music video for the song features cameos of Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles, who were the actors in the 1989 movie itself.
Hawke and Charles were called by Swift to make an appearance for her new single. Their involvement definitely added an extra layer of nostalgia. Their cameos quickly became a topic of discussion among curious fans and listeners who always look for behind-the-scenes trivia.
For Hawke and Charles, the experience must have been nostalgic as it is based on a film that boosted their careers. However, according to Hawke, his kids’ reaction was not great when they found out about his involvement in the project.
Ethan Hawke’s Daughters Had Unexpected Reaction for Him in Fortnight
In a recent interview on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Hawke revealed how he ended up in Swift’s music video. He revealed that Taylor Swift decided to include an Easter egg referencing Dead Poets Society in her new album.
Ethan Hawke recalled his experience of walking through the airport with Josh Charles. They were surrounded by young fans who were wearing Swift’s Eras Tour merchandise. He said,
“We’re going to meet the Queen ourselves. For Josh and I, we laughed ourselves silly the whole day. We felt like the biggest rock stars in the world..”
However, before meeting Swift, Hawke and Charles had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. So it was necessary for them to not reveal their meetings with the Fortnight singer. Hawke’s teenage daughters are big fans of Swift, and they were not happy when they found out this. Hawke revealed,
“The truth is when they did find out, the look on their face was one of profound disappointment,”
Hawke had to “low-key it” to avoid further embarrassment. He described the look on his daughters’ faces saying,
“‘Don’t pay attention to my dad. My dad’s an idiot. You should be calling me.’ Taylor belongs to them. I can’t have that on them. So I had to low-key it.”
Josh Charles also shared his feelings on Instagram. Just like Hawke, he too had to keep the meeting with Swift a secret from his kids. He wrote,
“I don’t like keeping secrets so that was hard. I didn’t even tell my kids until the other day!”
Charles had the most memorable day with Hawke. He shared a throwback photo with him and talked about the time they shared on set, recalling his Dead Poets Society days.
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department Breaks Records
While Hawke and Charles enjoyed their cameos, Swift’s latest album was busy making history. The album became the first ever to have more than 300 million streams in a single day on Spotify. The lead single Fortnight secured No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart for the second week.
Swift’s dominance was there on the Streaming Songs chart as well. All 31 songs from The Tortured Poets Department debuted on the chart. It broke the record for the most appearances by an artist at one time. Swift also has the highest 15 spaces on the list, which is another record for the music industry.
The album nearly doubled the combined sales of the rest of the Top 5 on the Billboard album chart. According to Billboard, Swift’s album had the highest second-week total since Adele’s 25. Whether through streaming, song sales, or overall album performance, Taylor Swift’s new album has become an unstoppable force, breaking records and captivating audiences worldwide.
