news culture Black Phone: Portrait of a serial killer played by Ethan Hawke (Moon Knight, The Northman, Gattaca)
The release of the film Black Phone at the cinema was an opportunity for the editorial staff of HelloSolar.info to meet one of the most prolific actors of recent decades. Ethan Hawke embodies in this supernatural horror film directed by Scott Derrickson a serial killer raging in an American suburb at the end of the 70s. Here is the portrait of the one who embodies The Catcher on the big screen.
Black Phone: a serial killer role
Ethan Hawke embodies in Black Phone a serial killer nicknamed by the press and the premises The Catcher (The Grabber in English). The actor, who recently starred in Moon Knight and The Northman, lends his features and his voice here to a child kidnapper… a great first for this versatile performer.
How did you approach your character in Black Phone?
It was easy because the script was very well written. It’s scary, as an actor, to play someone horrible. When you were a child, your mother told you that if you felt sad, all you had to do was smile and you would feel better. It’s corny, but it works if you force yourself to smile. It teaches you that if you look for the positive, the positive will come. It’s the same for the negative. If you play with horrible people, you bring those horrible feelings into your body and into your life. So we want to do that in the service of something that could be good. One of the things I liked about the script is how the young people can overcome the forces that are against them, that want to stop them from growing up. I’m just trying to embrace the mask and give it a terrifying place. When I was young and studying acting, I took a whole course on Greek theater and the power of masks, what they do to voice and body language. If you can’t see someone’s face, your brain automatically analyzes their gestures and listens more carefully. I just thought it would be interesting. It’s something I had never done before. When you’re trying to build a career, you’re always looking to do something a little different. – Ethan Hawke (actor)
A dark turning point in his career
The American actor seems to have accepted darker, more mature roles in recent years. After donning the costumes of Arthur Harrow and King Aurvandill War-Raven, he dons the mask of The Seeker in Black Phone. Is essentially playing antagonists a deliberate choice?
In recent years, you’ve starred in Moon Knight, First Reformed, The Northman, and now Black Phone. You play much darker characters there. Why did you take this turn in your career?
It wasn’t planned. As an actor ages, they are offered different types of roles. These are now the kind of roles that are offered to me, roles that I have not yet played. In reality, I followed the rules that I have always followed, which is to try to make good films. If you want to make a Vikings movie, you have to make a good one. If you want to make a horror movie, you have to make a good one. If you’re doing a comedy, you want to be funny. I just try to work with the most talented people possible, and put myself in a position where I continue to learn, and do something different. – Ethan Hawke (actor)
Legends of horror in cinema
Horror movie icons abound. The 7th Art is haunted by many characters as deadly as they are emblematic. Ethan Hawke returns for us to certain horrific roles that have each marked the last decades in their own way.
Who do you think are the most terrifying serial killers in cinema?
Anthony Hopkins is truly the best. He’s the Michael Jordan of horror movies. The film The Silence of the Lambs is such a performance. There is obviously Jack Nicholson in The Shining. They are two horror stars. It’s hard to do something original. People often want to be heroes, and it can get boring very quickly. With this man wearing a mask, a constantly changing mask, I felt like this film was original. I knew from seeing the mask that the film would work. – Ethan Hawke (actor)
Ethan Hawke & the video game
The horror video game is openly inspired by horror cinema, itself inspired by these same video games. Has Ethan Hawke surveyed the horrific lands of the 10th Art? The editorial staff of HelloSolar.info asked him the question.
Have you played horror video games? If yes, which ones ?
My son keeps trying to get me to play it. He is very talented. When I was a kid, it was Atari. It wasn’t very interesting. I need to be guided. – Ethan Hawke (actor)
