Though it is true that Ethan Hawke is not hanging from airplanes or on top of motorcycles off of cliff tops, as Tom Cruise does in the “Mission Impossible” franchise, it is also important to note that fans of these stars should not assume for a minute that this actor is taking it easy. In fact, while attending the Sundance Festival, before the premiere of Hawke’s new film, “The Weight,” this actor was quite vocal about the fact that this film was one in which he had stretched to his limits, even while he discussed the impact of Cruise’s stunts on the industry in general.
The bleak world of the Great Depression provides the background for the movie The Weight, which stars Hawke as a grieving father, separated from his child, and transported to a brutal work camp as a convict. When the sadistic prison warden, played by Russell Crowe, allows Hawke’s character the option of going free in exchange for smuggling in a quantity of gold through a treacherous area, it is a job that is accomplished through desperation, grit, and determination, rather than heroism.
Ethan Hawke reflects on Tom Cruise’s stunt culture
“Tom Cruise has totally changed what’s expected for actors,” Hawke said. “Some part of me is getting angry over the years because everyone somehow feels like they’re less if they use a stunt team.”
“What I liked about our movie is there were no ridiculous stunts,” he explained to Variety’s Sundance Studio. “It’s human. It’s not about things blowing up. Most of the stunts were things we could do. They weren’t superhero things.”
Fans of Hawke’s films will understand to what degree the actor risked his body. There were daring stunts such as old-style car racing, brutal hand-to-hand combat scenes, and swimming in icy rivers with a lot of holding of breath. There were no superpowers, no special effects, simply tiredness and pain from a job well done.
It’s within these realms of performance where the words of Hawke really resonated. In an interview with Sundance, the actor opened up about the ways in which Cruise’s ability to do some of the most astounding stunts has put pressure at an unattainable level, taking attention away from some of the most difficult performances done out of the spotlight. For fans of Cruise, The Weight acts as a reminder that not all stunts are created equal.
Of course, Hawke hastened to add that this wasn’t a personal attack, nor did it in any way detract from the dedication of Cruise, but rather it spoke to the culture in which we were living, in which authenticity equaled ever-greater levels of physical risk. The Weight, to Hawke, represented an alternate philosophy, one of realism, not escalation. Nevertheless, director Padraic McKinley, who also directed Hawke in the miniseries The Good Lord Bird, was quick to jump in and explain how, really, Hawke was downplaying how much he did contribute. McKinley explained how Hawke did all of his own stunts, even driving “icky old cars with hard clutches.”
“He did every single one,” McKinley said, except for a wide shot, which was after he almost blew out his hamstring.
