Ethan Hawke Shares Daughter's Advice For Interacting With Marvel Fans
New Marvel star Ethan Hawke reveals the valuable advice he got from his daughter Maya about interacting with the MCU's passionate fans. After years of resisting comic book fare, Hawke has officially boarded the MCU with its latest Disney+ series, Moon Knight. He plays Arthur Harrow, a cult leader who serves the Egyptian goddess Ammit. He's the primary villain for Oscar Isaac's Marc Spector, who in turn serves the god Khonshu. Marc isn't the only character Isaac plays in Moon Knight either; the hero has dissociative identity disorder, so Isaac also plays his alter Steven Grant.
Though he previously seemed to be against the superhero world, Hawke revealed recently he actually wanted to work with Marvel well before Moon Knight. The limited series has only released one episode so far, but audiences are already well informed of the kind of man Harrow is. Hawke has brought his impressive dedication to character work to Moon Knight, as seen from his very first scene. Harrow is initially shown putting broken glass in his shoes; the idea came from Hawke himself.
Hawke might've been prepared for the acting portion of his new Marvel job, but he found he needed some advice when it came to another side of it: The fans. Speaking recently to E! News, Hawke revealed his daughter Maya gave him some valuable advice about interacting with the MCU fandom. As one of the stars of Netflix's Stranger Things, Maya is well-versed in passionate fanbases. Hawke said:
"[Maya] said something really beautiful to me. As a performer, your job is to participate with the audience. Yes, you want to lead and do work that you believe in, but we want people to care about art. This is what people care about. They really have a passion for the material. You have to respect them and respect their fandom and try to give them something that's worth it."
There are many within Hollywood who might be quick to dismiss superhero projects as silly or not worth much effort, but Maya's advice to her dad really nailed it. The fanbases are what keep these properties going, and they also pour a lot of love into them. It's always much more impactful when the actors care as much as the audience does. Hawke was likely able to bring this sensibility to Moon Knight, which should then make his performance even more memorable. Isaac appears to feel the same way, as he's revealed he put a lot of himself into the show.
Moon Knight has only just begun, yet many are already looking ahead to the future. It isn't yet clear if Hawke's time in the MCU will end when all 6 episodes have been released, but one has to hope he'll get to stick around. An actor of his caliber is a major get for Marvel, and it would be interesting to see how he could further develop his character. Of course, there are still 5 episodes left of Moon Knight to explore Harrow's motivations and strengths, so perhaps we should focus on them first.
Source: E! News