Ethan Hawke says memorising ‘Blue Moon’ lines ‘broke my brain’

WASHINGTON: Hollywood actor Ethan Hawke has opened up about the intense preparation behind his Oscar-nominated performance in ‘Blue Moon’, saying memorising the film’s extensive dialogue “broke my brain,” according to People.

Hawke, 55, has earned his fifth nomination at the Academy Awards for portraying real-life lyricist Lorenz Hart in the Richard Linklater-directed biopic. Reflecting on the experience, the actor said the sheer volume of lines was unlike anything he had faced before.

“I had more lines on my first day of filming Blue Moon than I’d probably had in 10 years combined,” Hawke said, adding that the script contained a “staggering amount of verbiage.” While he takes pride in his ability to handle dialogue-heavy roles, he admitted with a smile, “it broke my brain,” according to People.

Ethan Hawke on playing Lorenz Hart in “Blue Moon” and working with longtime collaborator Richard Linklater : “This [role] was going to use everything I learned about craft.”

Watch the full conversation: https://t.co/Rl6QP1dpcO pic.twitter.com/ZVDhpuBZZo

— Variety (@Variety) February 23, 2026

The film, penned by Robert Kaplow, unfolds in real time and is set largely in a New York City bar on a single night in 1943, around the Broadway premiere of Oklahoma!. Hawke explained that the structure required him to know the entire script thoroughly, much like a stage performance, but without the luxury of extended rehearsal time.

“I needed to know the whole movie like a play — without the six weeks of rehearsal for a play that you would have. So it was kind of being fired from a cannon,” he said, describing the demanding process.

Despite the challenge, Hawke said working on the project never felt like a job. The film marks his ninth collaboration with Linklater, a creative partnership that began in the mid-1990s with Before Sunrise. “We’ve been pushing each other and driving each other for 30 years. And we’ve made films that are really meaningful to us. And when other people like them, it feels tremendous,” Hawke said.

Hawke’s Oscar journey began with his supporting role in Training Day (2001), and he has since earned nominations across both acting and screenwriting categories. Recalling the morning of this year’s nominations, he said he had asked his wife to wake him only if his name was announced, according to People.

On becoming a five-time nominee, Hawke said he felt “a wash of gratitude,” while also acknowledging fellow actors whose work went unrecognised.

The 97th Academy Awards will be held on March 15, with the ceremony to be hosted by Conan O’Brien and broadcast live on ABC and Hulu, according to People. (ANI)