Robin Williams was famously known for his brilliant comedic improvisation, and Ethan Hawke has revealed that the late actor brought a similar spontaneous energy to his dramatic roles. Reflecting on their work together in 1989 on the coming-of-age film Dead Poets Society, Hawke detailed an important creative lesson he learned by observing Williams’ approach and his collaboration with director Peter Weir.
During the interview, Hawke recalled,
“Robin Williams didn’t do the script,”
highlighting Williams’ unorthodox method.
“And I didn’t know you could do that. If he had an idea, he just did it. He didn’t ask permission. And that was a new door that was opened to my brain, that you could play like that.”
Director Peter Weir’s Support of Williams’ Spontaneous Style
Peter Weir, known for works like Witness and The Mosquito Coast, embraced Williams’ improvisational approach instead of resisting it. Hawke explained that Weir valued the actor’s creativity as long as the essential story elements remained intact.
“Peter liked it, as long as we still achieved the same goals that the script had,”
Hawke said.
“They had a very different way of working, but they didn’t judge one another or resist one another. They worked with each other. That’s exciting.”
This dynamic partnership between director and actor embodied a collaborative spirit that Hawke admired deeply.
“That’s when you get at the stuff of what great collaboration can do: You don’t have to be the same, you don’t have to hate somebody for being different than you are,”
he noted.
“And then the collective imagination can become very, very powerful, because the movie becomes bigger than one person’s point of view, it’s containing multiple perspectives.”
Peter Weir’s Masterful Direction and Williams’ Dramatic Growth
Hawke described Weir as a true master craftsman with a disciplined approach to filmmaking. According to Hawke, Weir’s skill was especially important in managing Williams, who was still relatively new to dramatic acting despite his comic genius.
“He thought about making movies with real discipline,”
Hawke explained.
“And I’m watching him direct Robin Williams — not an easy thing to do, because Robin was a comic genius, but dramatic acting was still new to Robin at that time.”
Witnessing their interactions had a lasting effect on Hawke.
“Watching that relationship in the room — I was four feet away while they were talking about performance — that was something you don’t unsee,”
he said.
About Dead Poets Society and Its Lasting Impact
Dead Poets Society starred Ethan Hawke as one of several students at the elite Welton Academy, who are inspired by their unconventional English teacher John Keating, portrayed by Williams. Alongside Hawke, actors Robert Sean Leonard, Josh Charles, and Gale Hansen played classmates navigating their formative years under Keating’s guidance.
The film was both a critical and commercial hit, earning $95 million domestically and receiving multiple Oscar nominations. Peter Weir was nominated for Best Director, with Robin Williams up for Best Actor, although both lost to Oliver Stone and Daniel Day-Lewis respectively. Tom Schulman won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and the production also received a nomination for Best Picture, ultimately losing to Driving Miss Daisy.
What’s Next for Ethan Hawke
Currently, Ethan Hawke can be seen starring in the thrillers Black Phone 2 and Blue Moon, both playing in theaters. He also leads the FX television series The Lowdown, continuing to showcase his wide-reaching talents across different screen formats.
