We’ve Got The Lowdown
We enjoyed a Pedro Pascal summer, and now the spotlight has shifted to Ethan Hawke this fall. Meanwhile, fellow Texan actor Mckenna Grace fills in wherever Hawke is absent this season.
Over the past two months, the Oscar-nominated actor has reprised his chilling role as a serial child murderer in Black Phone 2 and delivered arguably the finest performance of his career in Blue Moon.
Currently, Hawke stars in The Lowdown, a shaggy, captivating series on FX and Hulu that injects film noir elements into the streets of Tulsa.
What I’ve come to realize from the Hawke-a-thon is that while the 55-year-old Austin native has played his share of heroes and villains, he’s better at playing guys who are weak or profoundly torn in some way, where he can make his eyes go all wide with fear and make you wonder whether he’s going to break for good or for evil.
His range is evident in roles like the minister wrestling with existential doubts in First Reformed, the alcoholic gunslinger in The Magnificent Seven, the hapless younger brother in Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, and the bullied rookie cop in Training Day.
Author's Summary
Ethan Hawke shines most when portraying complex, vulnerable characters, delivering some of his best work in recent film and TV projects like The Lowdown.