Ethan Hawke says daughter Maya provided inspiration while making ‘The Last Movie Stars’

CNN

By Yenny Sanchez, CNN

A father-daughter heart-to-heart — or, in this case, Hawke-to-Hawke — helped Ethan Hawke while he was working on his latest project.

In a recent interview with CNN’s “New Day,” Hawke told Brianna Keilar and John Berman that his daughter Maya, an actress on Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” provided inspiration when he needed it most amid production on “The Last Movie Stars,” which tells the love story and careers of actors Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

“This was my pandemic project. I was stuck by myself trying to make sense out of this huge life,” he explained. “I was trying to make sense out of it so all the people closest to me — my children, my wife — never heard me shut up about it. And then I realized in zooming with my daughter that…in every relationship there isn’t this one person and one person. There’s this shared space that is the two people together.”

That conversation and epiphany helped guide Hawke’s scope for the six-part documentary, which was produced by CNN Films and is streaming now on HBO Max (which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery).

It was directed by Hawke and features narration by George Clooney, Laura Linney and others.

The 51-year-old is no stranger to stepping behind the camera, having directed 2018’s “Blaze,” but has been open about the possibility of winding down his acting days, declaring in one interview that he felt like he was entering his “last act” in movies.

“Well, don’t worry, it’s going to be a long act,” he said, clarifying his comments. “I highly recommend you get your coffee. I’m not going anywhere.”

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