Ethan Hawke said Tom Cruise’s dedication to doing his own stunts has changed what Hollywood now expects from actors.
The 55-year-old actor was discussing his new historical action drama, The Weight, when he shifted his focus to Cruise’s influence and how it has created unspoken pressure on performers to avoid stunt doubles.
“Tom Cruise has totally changed what’s expected for actors. Some part of me is getting angry over the years because everyone somehow feels like they’re less if they use a stunt team,” Hawke told Variety.
“What I liked about our movie is there were no ridiculous stunts. It’s human. It’s not about things blowing up, so most of the stunts were things we could do. They weren’t superhero things.”
Earlier this year, Ethan admitted that he’s also adapted to survive in Hollywood.
Despite early success in projects such as Reality Bites, Gattaca, and Great Expectations, Hawke said he had to rethink his approach as opportunities shifted with age.
“This job that I’m in is a constant re-contextualisation, not for yourself, but for the people watching,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“I came out of the gate getting leading parts, and that can breed a laziness about the actual methodology of acting.”
He added, “I was teaching myself to reboot the computer, from a leading man to a character actor, and thinking, ‘What if I could combine these things?’ If you don’t do that as you get older, you get a lot less opportunities. Very few people get to be Paul Newman.”
Ethan also explained that he’s “willing to play within the sandbox of commerciality”.
Drawing on advice from director Peter Weir, he said he tries to balance ambition and accessibility and sees popular films as a creative space.
