Less than 24 hours after filming wrapped in western Almería with Pedro Almodóvar, Ethan Hawke faced a crowded bathroom scene. Last night at the Doré cinema in Madrid, he appeared to present his fourth feature as a director, Flame (2018), a portrait of Blaze Foley, a country folk musician who dreams of legend and ends up becoming a haunted artist.
“I don’t want to be remembered, I want to be forgotten. We all wrestle with the wish to see ourselves in the third person, yet the real goal is to stay fully inside the moment,” Hawke told a packed audience after a Cine Doré screening, with Almodóvar among the attendees and Hawke radiant with energy.
Online tickets sold out in under ten minutes, and dozens of fans lingered by the doors for autographs or snapshots inspired by Hawke’s roles in Dead Poets Society and Richard Linklater’s cherished trilogy. The buzz around Flame grew as the night unfolded.
Meanwhile, production on Strange Life, a 30 minute western featuring Hawke and Chilean actor Pedro Pascal, reportedly wrapped around one in the morning on Sunday after Hawke joked about taking a seat at the back of the room during the event.
“I’m very happy with the movie,” said the director from La Mancha. “Proud” to have collaborated with Hawke under demanding conditions, including the intense summer heat in Almería.
In dialogue from the evening, Hawke remarked that a movie succeeds when the entire crew shares a single vision and when seasoned creators like Almodóvar help bring it to life under challenges both technical and personal.
Throughout the talk, Hawke spoke about his long journey as both an actor and a filmmaker, noting his recent forays into directing while continuing to act in projects of his choosing. He described a career path that has been shaped by hands-on experience on many sets, and how that exposure taught him to borrow from a wide range of clashing ideas and voices.
He highlighted his collaboration with Richard Linklater, a Texan filmmaker who has influenced him deeply. Hawke described Linklater as a close friend with whom he built a long working relationship, adding that they made nine films together and endured a decade-long process to complete one of them, Boyhood (2014).
Hawke explained that Linklater was the first person he called when deciding to make Flame, a project born as an independent venture and largely financed by the actor himself. The shared advice was to approach the craft with the wonder of a novice: imagine you are nineteen, stay humble, and let the truth in a three-chord song guide your storytelling. The lesson, Hawke said, is that real artistry emerges when people are unpretentious and honest.
In Flame, real musicians fill the roles of Foley and Townes Van Zandt, with Ben Dickey portraying Foley and Charlie Sexton portraying Van Zandt. Hawke noted that these performers were integral from the outset, reinforcing that music and acting can coexist as authentic experts in their craft. Dickey’s personal connection to Foley and a Christmas memory of not feeling like a real musician added emotional weight to the production, reinforcing Hawke’s impulse to bring Foley’s story to life on screen.
Hawke recalled a moment when he suggested having Dickey play Foley, a plan that evolved into a thoughtful process of acting lessons and deep preparation. The collaboration was more than a casting choice; it became a pivotal element in shaping the film’s emotional core. The performer’s readiness to step into a complex historical figure mirrored the film’s intention to blend factual homage with intimate storytelling.
Comparisons to Hawke’s earlier work, such as Born to Be Blue (2015), where he explored another musician’s life, were drawn to illustrate how some artists excel in their art while grappling with personal challenges. The discussion suggested that artistry is often a delicate balance between creative vitality and personal vulnerability, a theme central to Flame and Hawke’s broader repertoire.
As the conversations continued, Hawke reflected on the broad spectrum of influences that inform his directing and acting. He spoke of the iterative nature of filmmaking, where there is rarely a single road to success and excitement can grow from collaboration with diverse talents. The sense of camaraderie among the cast and crew was cited as a crucial driver of the film’s energy and authenticity, a reminder that shared commitment often produces the strongest results.
Directors and actors alike have long noted that a strong opening collaboration can set a project on the right track. For Hawke, the journey with Flame echoes those early experiences when a simple idea became a shared mission. The dialogue also touched on the practicalities of cinema, including how summer heat and remote locations shape the production process and, in turn, the film’s final texture and mood.
The evening closed with reflections on Hawke’s ongoing artistic exploration. He described a career built not by rigid formulas but by listening to different voices and learning to use them to illuminate a character’s truth. The conversation underscored a recurring theme: a filmmaker grows by continuing to learn from teachers both on set and off, constantly refining how stories are told and how audiences experience them. The night offered a candid portrait of a filmmaker who has spent decades polishing his craft, always cautious not to confuse the noise of fame with the deeper resonance of storytelling.
Attributed to multiple attendees at the Madrid event and public remarks by Pedro Almodóvar during the screening.
Hawke’s remarks about collaboration, humility, and the power of shared purpose reveal a filmmaker who remains curious and committed. He continues to balance acting with directing, to test new ideas while honoring the music that inspired Flame. The film, and Hawke’s evolving career, stand as a testament to the belief that a story thrives when the people telling it also feel the heartbeat of the subject at its core. The dialogue, the performances, and the live energy from Madrid contribute to a growing narrative around Flame that audiences in Canada and the United States will be watching closely, eager to see how a legend in the making unfolds on screen.