Exclusive: Ethan Hawke Talks Predestination, Teases Future Projects

In 2010, Ethan Hawke teamed up with up-and-coming filmmakers Michael and Peter Spierig for their futuristic vampire tale Daybreakers. Five years later, the trio are tackling time travel in a movie called Predestination, which finds Hawke portraying a Temporal Agent who must try and stop a horrific crime for his final assignment.

Predestination also stars Sarah Snook (Jessabelle), who delivers an incredible performance as a transgender writer Hawke meets in the field and is soon revealed to have a much bigger role in his work. Recently, Daily Dead had the opportunity to chat with Hawke about reteaming with the Spierigs on Predestination, collaborating with his co-star Snook, the difficulty of keeping originality alive in Hollywood and what’s coming up for him in 2015.

Great to speak with you today, Ethan- and fantastic job on Predestination. I feel like it’s a film that will be a lot of fun to watch repeatedly just so you can try and catch some of the little things going on in there.

Ethan Hawke: I agree (laughs)! People think I’m nuts  but I think Predestination as a film works much better on the second viewing because it allows you the time to find those clues to what’s happening on the screen. And I love that about it- it’s really wild (laughs).

I know that you’ve worked with the Spierigs in the past- and I’m a huge fan of Daybreakers and the ambition they showed in that film as well. Was their involvement in Predestination the biggest draw for you towards the project then or did the story have something to do with it as well?

Ethan Hawke: The story is fantastic but honestly, it was all about working with them again. I remember the last day on set of Daybreakers thinking to myself, “I really want to make their next film.” They love movies the same way that I do, they see filmmaking the way I see it and I think it’s rather exciting to work with people like that.

Plus, I knew that these guys were only going to get better and better behind the camera. Daybreakers was a big learning curve for them but I think what they were able to do was incredible especially since the best genre films work best as a metaphor for something more. And Predestination is another step forward for the Spierigs.

Did you see their confidence grow as storytellers on Predestination then?

Ethan Hawke: For sure. I think their handling of Robert Heinlein’s little story and making it into something so much bigger was so ambitious and cool. I think the one thing about time travel movies is that they’re often cool to look at but when you sit down and try to put the pieces of the logic together, many times they fall apart. Predestination doesn’t do that at all and I think the way they framed this story makes sense in a way that most audiences will understand and appreciate. That’s why I think this will be a movie that will only get better the more you see it- that’s how audiences will really get a sense of the bigger picture of what’s going on.

Let’s talk a little bit about Sarah and your experiences working with her; I fell in love with her in Jessabelle and I cannot believe her performance in this movie. It’s simply breathtaking to watch her from start to finish and it’s an incredibly bold performance as well.

Ethan Hawke: Isn’t she fantastic? I would say it is probably one of the greatest performances I’ve ever witnessed- she’s that great. We had a great time working together and I enjoyed the fact that our character shared this symbiotic relationship onscreen because it really allowed something special to happen.

I think the biggest risk we take in Predestination is Sarah; the Spierigs wanted to make sure that role wasn’t played by a well-known actress, rather someone who could become this character and viewers wouldn’t just be watching someone ‘act.’ This was more about discovering an actor who was working her ass off to find this character and it reminded me a lot of working with Jude Law back in Gattaca.

And I have to say that if Sarah was playing a transgender character is some small, indie drama then we’d be watching her get all the accolades and awards. Sadly, because this performance is in this punk sci-fi movie most people will overlook it but I do hope people find this movie and hope they discover just how great of an actor Sarah really is. This performance was something truly special.

I think it’s pretty remarkable that throughout your career you’ve always managed to find really interesting and original projects to be a part of. Does it get harder though, as you keep working, to keep finding projects that have that kind of originality to them or has it always been a struggle?

Ethan Hawke: I think it’s always been tough, trying to find stories that have a kind of originality to them because people always want to play it safe. Especially with movies. There’s always a huge pull to make films that are ‘average’ because that’s what audiences supposedly like and expect and will pay money for. So I think originality is the biggest struggle for all of us and I think the only way to have a fulfilling career is maintaining that curiosity so you can keep that joy alive in your work.

I know we’re about out of time but I wanted to ask about your involvement with Blumhouse’s Book of Nightmares which I’m really excited to check out this year. How much fun was it to be asked to be a part of something this cool?

Ethan Hawke: It’s very cool (laughs). I don’t want to say too much just because that’ll ruin it but it’s a spin on a familiar horror tale that feels like a bad acid trip. Jason (Blum) came to me about the book idea and asked me if I had anything and this was the perfect excuse to write this story because it had been something I had wanted to do for a while now. And I love working with Jason- I recently did a movie with them and Ti West called In the Valley of Violence which is a spaghetti western that we set out to the desert to make with five bucks in our pockets. It was a lot of fun.