Ethan Hawke on Directing an Unlikely Biopic with 'Blaze'

Ethan Hawke hates biopics — but he had to direct 'Blaze.'

“There’s no agenda about wanting to be a director. I feel like a cat, you know? I'm just trying to stay on my feet, stay alive, and stay curious,” he stated. “I started acting when I was a kid so I can get disappointed, lost, whenever you feel like too much of a professional I get a little sleepy.”

Blaze Foley was a country singer-songwriter who tragically died before achieving mainstream success.

“If you watch any kind of sporting event. My eye kind of gravitates to the person who gave their all and it didn't go their way down. You know? I always do. I can't help it. My eye goes to them, how are they doing,” Hawk said. “Because we're all told that if you give your all, it's going to work out, and it will, but not necessarily by society's definition of what work out means. Grace and integrity are their own reward hard work, doing something of value, is its own reward.”

Though he has less experience acting than directing, Hawke says that pushing out of your comfort “does good things to us.”

“We’re living in a world where it's easier and easier to not have to do any of the messy work of living,” he said. “You know you can feel a little isolated, but the submissive stuff is fun. I mean it's hard, but it's the stuff of life and so you have to force yourself to be uncomfortable with things sometimes.”

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