In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ethan Hawke explains why he’d always been hesitant to take a role in the superhero genre, and why he decided to go “all in” with his first — Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ show Moon Knight.
“The comic book world meant a lot to me when I was younger,” says the Oscar-nominated actor, who plays the cult leader-like baddie Arthur Harrow.
“I was always a little apprehensive; there’s a certain kind of actor that really excels in that universe, and I’m still not sure I’m one of them,” Hawke notes.
However, Moon Knight himself changed his mind. “Oscar [Isaac] asked me, and I really respect him,” Hawke says. “And I knew that if he went in, he was going to go all in, and it’s fun to do any genre with people who are all in.”
Hawke says he also appreciated that Moon Knight isn’t a household name — yet. “[I]f you do Batman or Superman or Hulk…it’s like playing Hamlet. Ninety percent of people there have an opinion about how Hamlet should be played.”
However, the Training Day vet admits he had “always been nervous about” playing the heavy.
“I’ve always had this theory that when you teach an audience how to see the demon inside you, they don’t unsee it for the rest of your career,” Hawke explains. “Jack Nicholson can be playing an accountant, and you’re still waiting for him to explode like he did in The Shining.”
Having said that, the 51-year-old actor notes, “But I realized I’m on the other side of 50, and it’s time to put a new tool in the tool kit,” adding, “Villains might be my future.”
Moon Knight debuts on Disney+ on March 30.
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