"Wish I were a Jedi"— Ethan Hawke shares dissapointment over not starring in franchises like Harry Potter and Star Wars

Ethan Hawke, the American actor and director with years of experience recently shared his sentiments about not being involved in any major blockbuster productions such as Harry Potter or Star Wars. At a master class at the Venice Film Festival, Hawke stated regret in the fact that he failed to get cast in these globally acclaimed film franchises despite being a huge fan of them.

During the event on Monday, Hawke candidly shared his thoughts on the impact of these franchises.

"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 not a Jedi," he joked. "And I walk through my life thinking, 'I wish I were a Jedi.'"

This playful yet sincere admission highlighted the actor's desire to have been part of such iconic cinematic worlds. Hawke contrasted this with his experience working on films with director Richard Linklater, his frequent collaborator. He elaborated,

"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.'"

Apart from the upcoming film Blue Moon, which Ethan Hawke and Linklater collaboratively developed; they have been involved in the making of many movies, including the Before trilogy and Boyhood.

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Ethan Hawke reflects on the balance between blockbuster fame and artistic integrity

Ethan Hawke's comments therefore give a true word and a reality felt by many actors, the conflict of whether to do big franchise movies or better creative opportunities.

He further expressed that even though franchises like Harry Potter or Star Wars provide a great opportunity to achieve enormous recognition and influence the general culture, they also include specific guidelines and restrictions for an actor that may narrow down their opportunities.

On the other hand, working with filmmakers like Linklater can create interesting characters/narratives that are not necessarily palatable to the mainstream audience.

"It's kind of like that old Zen quote: 'You don’t have to walk on water, you get to walk on Earth'. Isn't that amazing?"

"I feel that's what Richard Linklater's movies do, is remind you that it’s a miracle that we walk on Earth and that we breathe at all, and that there's whales and giraffes and life is unbelievable if you don’t hyperbolize it."He further continued in the Venice Film Festival."

Blue Moon is another, most recent example of Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater's collaboration. This motion picture is set in 1943 and revolves around the life of Lorenz Hart with whom Rodgers wrote music before Hammerstein came into his partnership.

As per Ethan Hawke, Linklater shared the script for Blue Moon with him 12 years ago but requested to wait for some time until Hawke grows older. He recalled Linklater saying,

"You're still too attractive. We got to wait until you're a little less attractive."

The actor joked that when Linklater recently saw him on a talk show, he decided it was finally time to make the movie, a moment that Ethan Hawke humorously described as a jab at his aging looks.

As for Ethan Hawke, with such complexity of his current occupation and development, he continues to stay true to his skills and big goals.

His most recent film Blue Moon with director Richard Linklater proves that he only wants to tell important stories. Although Hawke expressed dreams of joining franchises like Harry Potter or Star Wars, his current and future projects with Linklater reflect his personal interest in such realistic movies.

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