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Ethan Hawke on what convinced him to play the 'monster' in 'The Black Phone'

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Yong Chavez | TFC News Hollywood

<p>Ethan Hawke started acting in the mid-80s when he was only 15 years old and has since become one of Hollywood’s highly respected actors.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ethan Hawke plays The Grabber. Courtesy: Universal " The="" Black="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/06/20/ethan-hawke-as-the-grabber.jpg"/><figcaption>Ethan Hawke plays The Grabber in &#x27;The Black Phone.&#x27; <em>Courtesy: Universal &quot;The Black Phone&quot;</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>In &#x27;The Black Phone,&#x27; he plays what he considers his first truly evil role as the sadistic killer The Grabber.</p><p>&quot;The life of an actor, you wear different clothes and you take on all these different shapes. And I loved playing a priest in First Reformed and I love playing (The Good Lord Bird’s) John Brown, somebody I really admire. And then now here to play, basically, a monster,&quot; Hawke shared.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ethan Hawke in The Black Phone. Courtesy: Universal " The="" Black="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/06/20/ethan-hawke-plays-the-grabber.png"/><figcaption><em>Courtesy: Universal &quot;The Black Phone&quot;</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>&#x27;The Black Phone&#x27; is a horror story set in the 70s in small-town America. Directed and co-written by Scott Derrickson, it delves into how a pair of siblings do their best to outsmart Hawke&#x27;s character.</p><p>Derrickson, who was also the writer-director of Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Marvel’s Doctor Strange, said he based some of the looks in &#x27;The Black Phone&#x27; from his own youth.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ethan Hawke interview for " The="" Black="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/06/20/ethan-hawke-pic-interview.png"/></figure></div><p>Hawke admitted that he didn&#x27;t really like playing villains.</p><p>&quot;It doesn&#x27;t really interest me, inviting that kind of darkness into your psychology. But I really admire Scott Derrickson. He&#x27;s a wonderful film director. We had a great time doing Sinister and I wanted to work with him again. And I warned him when he first sent the script, when he told me what we wanted me to play, I was like, ‘I’m not playing anybody called The Grabber. Not gonna do that.’ He&#x27;s like, ‘Well just read it.’ I was like, ‘I want to work with you but —‘ But then I read it and I fell in love with the kids with their story. This brother and sister and that story really felt like worth telling,&quot; the actor said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Madeleine McGraw and Mason Thames. Courtesy: Universal " The="" Black="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/06/20/mason-thames-plays-finney-–-madeleine-mcgraw-plays-gwen.png"/><figcaption>Madeleine McGraw plays Gwen (left) and Mason Thames plays Finney (right). <em>Courtesy: Universal &quot;The Black Phone&quot;</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The children in &#x27;The Black Phone&#x27; were played by Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw, whose performances have been praised by Hawke and critics alike. The movie will be out in the US on June 24.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/50q8x2_30yQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Ethan Hawke steps into his most terrifying role to date as The Grabber in his latest film, 'The Black Phone.'