Its been a little over fifteen years since Ethan Hawke proved himself as a serious actor with his lead role in Gattaca . Now, it appears that Hawke may reunite with director Andrew Niccol for a new project that might continue the rejuvenation of his career.
In Gattaca , Hawke starred as a genetically inferior man who embarked on his dream to travel in space. Deadline reports that Ethan Hawke may take flight again. The actor is in talks to star in a new thriller to be directed by Niccol.
The thriller, which is currently untitled, will see Hawke take on the role of a former fighter pilot turned drone pilot. Hawke’s character divides his day between going to battle with the Taliban through a remote control and arguing with his family at home. He begins to question his mission and wonders whether he is prolonging the war.
If Ethan Hawke signs on the dotted line, this will be yet another project in a comeback year. Hawke received rave reviews for his performance in the romcom trilogy Before Midnight and his thriller The Purge surpassed initial expectations. Despite the two successes, Hawke’s garden-variety thriller Getaway, opposite Selena Gomez, didn’t do the actor’s career any favors.
The untitled film is reported to begin shooting in February and is expected to be sold at AFM with Voltages Pictures’ Nicolas Chartier and Zev Foreman as producers.
For Hawke, this is an unusual combination of films spread across several genres, but perhaps he’s taking a hint from an actor he has said he admires, Nic Cage . During an AMA chat, Hawke elaborated on his respect for Cage:
“He’s the only actor since Marlon Brando that’s actually done anything new with the art of acting; he’s successfully taken us away from an obsession with naturalism into a kind of presentation style of acting that I imagine was popular with the old troubadours.”
Are you excited to see Ethan Hawke making a comeback?
