|
 Hawke, 43, has taken on some 50 roles since and this year
received his third Oscar nod for best adapted screenplay for
"Before Midnight," shared with Richard Linklater and Julie Delpy.
His 12-year "Boyhood" project with Linklater has won critical
praise, while his documentary on classical pianist Seymour
Bernstein has also been warmly received at recent film
festivals.
Hawke spoke with Reuters about "Seymour: An Introduction," its
underlying themes on art and mentorship, and how Williams helped
him find his "barbaric yawp."
Q: What were some of the biggest lessons you learned from
Seymour?
A: One of the ways that (teachers and mentors) can be most
helpful is helping us see our blind spots, when we delude
ourselves. It's so hard for us, as people, to have real
self-awareness about where we're deluded - little ways in which
we lie to ourselves, or have been lying to ourselves for
decades. And when you work with somebody who really respects you
and who genuinely wants you to grow, you feel that they can help
you to see where you're hurting yourself.
Q: Do you think classical music is under appreciated?
A: All of the higher art forms are suffering ... It's
like we're literally indoctrinating our children to be
distracted all the time.
Q: How do you feel about classical music?
A: It's the same way I feel about Shakespeare. Is it wonderful
to be educated about it? Yes, it is. But if you do Shakespeare
and you play it correctly, high school students who'd never
heard Shakespeare will love it. They'll laugh, they'll be moved,
it's beautiful and if you hear Bach played well, it stops your
heart. You don't need an education to love that music.
Q: Seymour talks about the pitfalls of perfecting
technique at the expense of the art. Do you see that in acting?
[to top of second column] |
A: A lot of young people - talented people - will come at it
with this huge emotion and it's wonderful, but it's completely out
of control. They don't know when to be funny, they don't know when
to be serious, they don't know when to be emotional. The trouble
with cinema is they leave it up to the director to decide all this
stuff ... They can make a decent performance out of it, because it's
all edited. But when you act on the stage, you have to do that for
yourself.
Q: You played Todd Anderson in "Dead Poets Society" opposite
Robin Williams. What was that experience like?
A: I think the sadness with Robin is this person that brought
the world so much joy, and to have it be revealed that we didn't do
the same for him.
When we're young, it's easier to find mentors and teachers and "Dead
Poets Society" is about that. It's about young people with a great
mentor who's telling them to hear their own voice: "What will your
verse be?"
Something happened to me with Robin. It's the scene where he writes
on the chalkboard, "I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of
the world," which is a Walt Whitman quote. And he wants me to sound
my barbaric yawp. It's a very difficult scene to play and the
director wanted to do it in one take. He wanted it to have an
authenticity and it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my
life. And when it was over, Robin just held my hand, and whispered,
"Remember this." Very, very beautiful moment for me, you know? And
I've hunted, sought that moment out again, all the time.
My thoughts about his passing were extremely sad, but it was clear
to me in 1988 that this is a person who was in serious pain, that he
carried with him for decades.
(Editing by Mary Milliken and Matthew Lewis)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
