“I thought ‘Dead Poets Society’ is what making a movie was like. It’s not what it’s like,” the actor said of his breakout film role

NEED TO KNOW

• Ethan Hawke says he “went 10 years without having a great experience” on set after filming Dead Poets Society
• He said making the film gave him false expectations for future sets while moderating a book talk for Kyle MacLachlan
• Hawke made the revelation as he discussed how “lucky” he and MacLachlan are for their creative relationships

After making Dead Poets Society, it was a while before Ethan Hawke found himself having a “great” time on set.

Hawke, 55, found his breakout role as an introverted high schooler in the 1989 coming-of-age film, also starring Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard. He also had a “great experience” with director Peter Weir while making it — and then went a decade without one afterward, he recently revealed while moderating a book talk for Kyle MacLachlan‘s new memoir, Fictional Selves.

Hawke admitted at the Sept. 28 event that for a time, he thought making Dead Poets Society “is what making a movie was like” before later realizing it was actually a rare experience. He made the revelation while discussing the creative relationships he and MacLachlan, 67, have had throughout their careers.

“And that for me was the hard part of growing up, which I feel for you when I read [Fictional Selves],” Hawke told MacLachlan at New York City’s Symphony Space. “What happens is when you have these beautiful experiences… I had great experience with Peter Weir, and then I went 10 years without having a great experience.”

“I thought Dead Poets Society is what making a movie was like. It’s not what it’s like,” Hawke continued. “A lot of people are really cold and crass and mean and they really want to sell something and they want to manipulate you and they don’t respect actors.”

The topic of impactful creative experiences arose during their talk as The Lowdown costars discussed their respective, long-running relationships with collaborators Richard Linklater and David Lynch.

Hawke and Linklater, 66, have made nine movies together, including the Before trilogy, Boyhood and Blue Moon, and the duo is currently working on a 10th. MacLachlan and Lynch collaborated on several projects over the years; the actor made his feature film debut in Dune before starring in Blue Velvet and later, finding his iconic role as Special Agent Dale Cooper in the Lynchian world of Twin Peaks.

During the talk, MacLachlan shared that Lynch, who died in January 2025 at age 78, is a large part of why he finds such joy in his work as an actor, prompting Hawke to draw a parallel to his own relationship with Linklater.

“I love what I do. I love coming to set. And I get this from David too, because the sense of joy and creative freedom and excitement was always present on David’s set,” MacLachlan told the audience. “Even when [Dennis Hopper] and [Isabella Rossellini] were doing some of that very heavy stuff [on Blue Velvet], there was still this sense of joy and creativity that was there.”

“And I just tried to embrace that and do that,” MacLachlan said of the teachings of his late mentor, noting that he’s “in my creative, happy place when that’s happening on set.”

Hawke then chimed in to add that what he and MacLachlan found with their long-term collaborators is not industry standard — and is actually rather difficult to find.

“But we’re extremely lucky for many reasons,” Hawke said, “but one is: young actors dream of having a creative relationship with a filmmaker. I got to have that with Richard Linklater. You got to have that with David Lynch. And their work is full of mystery and hope and the stuff of life.”

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The Dead Poets Society star continued, “The creative space that I know from working with Richard Linklater sounds like what you’re talking about, which is a very safe place. And you can talk about anything if you’re among friends, right? You can share the darkest thought if you know you’re loved. And that’s what a Linklater set feels like.”

“And not every set is like that, as you know,” added MacLachlan.

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