Ethan Hawke and Sydney Sweeney Share Honest Moments in Actors on Actors

When Sydney Sweeney, 28, and Ethan Hawke, 55, sat down together for a recent episode of Variety’s Actors on Actors, the pair didn’t hold back. Their chat was full of genuine admissions, a few laughs, and some surprisingly heartfelt exchanges. Hawke, a fan of Sweeney’s recent work in Christy, shared how much he enjoyed watching her performance with his daughter. Sweeney, in turn, admitted she sometimes wishes Hawke was her dad.

Stage Fright and Supportive Banter

During their conversation, Sweeney revealed she struggles with nerves when it comes to performing live. When Hawke asked if she’d spent much time on stage, she replied,

I have horrible stage fright. I have terrible stage fright. Because I didn’t grow up doing it.

Hawke reassured her, suggesting it was just a matter of getting used to it.

You know what that is? Inexperience. (Sweeney laughs) It really is. Yeah, if you don’t grow up doing it – if you did it five times, it would go away.

Sweeney agreed, saying she’d probably enjoy it once she got the hang of it. Hawke praised her acting, encouraging her to give stage work a go, and compared the thrill of performing live to the adrenaline of a fight.

I’ll drag you out. [Sweeney: I’d love that.] You won’t watch. You’ll be there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [Sweeney: Oh, man. I might be really nervous the first time, and then I’ll get better.] You will. Everybody’s really nervous. That’s the fun of it. It’s like fighting, in that way. When you’re on the other side of it, it’s so rewarding.

Family Reflections and Regrets

Hawke also opened up about his daughter, Maya, and the challenges of her childhood. He spoke about recognising her artistic talent early on and the complicated feelings that came with parenting.

With my oldest, it was without complication. I knew, when she was about 4, that she was gonna be an artist, and I knew that she was gonna be a very good one. That was her safe place. Water coloring, dancing, singing – all throughout her childhood.

He admitted there were tough times he regrets, but always felt confident that art would be her saving grace.

There were a lot of things about her childhood which were really, really hard and complicated, and things I regret for her. But anything that had to do with human communication, people understanding each other, was something she vibrated to.

Hawke shared a story about Maya’s response to a teacher’s question about happiness, showing her depth even as a teen.

‘Do you really think that’s the question?’ And I thought, ‘I love this girl.’ [Laughs] She says, ‘I don’t think that’s a very interesting question. I think there’s a lot more interesting questions than whether I’m happy or not. Am I happy? No. But I don’t aspire to be happy.’ You know, she was very- [Laughs]

He explained he never worried about her career path, knowing she’d find her way regardless.

And so, I never worried about her going into the arts because I knew that was gonna save her life. I completely support it. But what I’m trying to say is no support was required. There was no decision. It was gonna happen with or without my blessing. You know? And she happens to be really good at it. And so, what I can do is I can help her handle the vicissitudes of the profession.

Career Journeys and Childhood Dreams

Hawke discussed his long road to starring in Blue Moon, a project he’d been attached to for over a decade. He recalled reading the script and immediately wanting the role, but director Richard Linklater told him to wait until he was older.

I was like, ‘This is ice hot.’ I don’t know exactly what, but you know, sometimes you read something like, you talked about when you first read ‘Christy’. You know, I knew 20 pages in that I gotta play this guy. And I also, if you start reading a lot of scripts, I also knew there was no way the quality of writing was gonna be this high. The first 20 pages and not finish.

Linklater insisted on waiting, saying Hawke wasn’t ready yet. They revisited the script every 18 months for nearly ten years before finally making the film. When it came time to shoot, Hawke admitted the nerves set in.

Because I was so confident about it. But then once it was, actually, happening, I was like, ‘Wait a second. This is so much verbiage. And I need more time.’ [Rick is] like, ‘We don’t have more time. You gotta work. You know, I got an idea. Why don’t you not go out to movies on Friday night?’ Yeah, you know. And we’re old friends.

Hawke said the challenge was worth it, and the film has since been well received.

He also shared a story from his youth, inspired by Rocky, where he tried his hand at boxing.

I saw Rocky, and I decided I wanted to be a boxer. So, I took boxing classes, and I got one fight. And I didn’t like boxing anymore. [Laughs]

After six months of training, he realised the sport wasn’t for him.

What was awful about a real fight was, I thought I was a pretty good defensive boxer. But the guy was punching my hands so hard that I was hitting myself. You know? (imitates a punch) (Sweeney laughs) And it was abs, and I dropped it. One fight. I did not like losing. I did not like getting beaten up.

Heartfelt Exchanges

One of the most touching moments came at the end of their chat, when Sweeney told Hawke,

Well, I’m incredibly honoured to sit here and have this conversation with you. This has been- I’ll never forget this. Thank you! Killed that. No, you’re incredible. So, I’m sitting here being like, ‘Man, I wish you were my dad.’ [Both laugh.]

Their conversation was full of warmth, honesty, and a bit of dry humour, making for a memorable exchange between two actors at different stages of their careers.