Fresh Air: Best Of Ethan Hawke / Tim Robbins

Podcast: Fresh Air (WHYY/NPR)
Hosts: Terry Gross, Tonya Mosley
Date: November 15, 2025

Episode Overview

This “Best Of” episode of Fresh Air features two engaging interviews. First, Terry Gross speaks with actor/writer/director Ethan Hawke about his new projects—the film Blue Moon and the streaming series The Lowdown. Hawke offers deep insights into his process, the emotional complexity of his characters, and the evolution of his career. Later, Tonya Mosley interviews Tim Robbins, Oscar-winning actor/director and founder of the Actors Gang, about his play Topsy Turvy, the healing power of live theater, and how decades in the arts have shaped his worldview.

Ethan Hawke: Art, Aging, and Playing Against Type

[02:15–25:48] Key Discussion Points

1. Portraying Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon

• Hawke stars as lyricist Lorenz Hart, wrestling with professional rejection and personal pain on the opening night of Oklahoma!.

• The role required Hawke to embody intense emotional contradictions, such as being both “incredibly jealous and incredibly happy,” and navigating issues of self-loathing, pride, and identity.

• The character’s complexity was a stretch, even for a seasoned actor:

  • “Every now and then you bump up against a part that presses you to the wall of your ability. And you know you can never be as good as the part is demanding of you.” —Ethan Hawke [05:53]

• On disappearing into the role:

  • Linklater, as director, pushed Hawke beyond his usual bag of tricks: “He just wanted me to be Larry Hart... He would say, ‘I saw you, I saw you, I saw you.’” —Ethan Hawke [07:06]
  • Hawke describes learning about the subtle dynamics of power, sexuality, and self-worth while literally becoming physically shorter for the part.

2. Reflections on Self-Destructive Artists

• Hawke draws on his experiences working with and losing friends like River Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

• He sees addiction as rooted in pain and sensitivity, often found in artists.

  • “Half of why I act sometimes is to impress those two men that I was friends with... They were the gauge by which I judged myself.” —Ethan Hawke [16:16]

• Hawke acknowledges the randomness and fragility of life, expressing ongoing grief and curiosity about what his late friends might have become.

3. The Passage of Time and the Actor’s Life

• Hawke discusses how his collaborations with Richard Linklater (Boyhood, the Before trilogy) have shaped his understanding of time, both personally and artistically.
  • “I often think Father Time is the main character of all the films we've done together.” —Ethan Hawke [19:12]
  • On getting older: “I’m very aware of how much of the road has already been walked... And I don’t like wasting time anymore.” —Ethan Hawke [20:03]

4. The Genre-Bending Series The Lowdown

• Hawke’s character, Lee, is an eccentric investigative journalist—a “truthstorian”—who explores corruption in Tulsa.
• The series is part homage, part satire of noir:
  • “He’s Quixote chasing windmills, running into propellers. He's a dreamer and an idealist and self centered and doesn’t see his own blind spots. And he’s a moron. And I just completely relate to him.” —Ethan Hawke [24:35]
• Hawke relishes the freedom and humor in playing Lee, noting the contrast with his more transformative turn in Blue Moon.

Memorable Quotes

• “The world is so stupid in the way that it imagines power and intelligence and grace...” —Ethan Hawke on playing someone short [08:49]
• “Acting forces you to be aware of time. Cinema naturally does it.” —Ethan Hawke [19:20]

Tim Robbins: Theater as Healing & Resistance

[35:39–51:25] Key Discussion Points

1. Art, Lockdown, and Human Complexity

• Robbins’ new play Topsy Turvy uses a chorus who loses its harmony during pandemic-induced isolation as a metaphor for societal division.

• The lockdown forced Robbins to reevaluate his beliefs and highlighted the enduring power of collective art:

  • “Things that I had held sacred or had held as truths were challenged during that time. And what it made me do was... question what my beliefs are. And I think that’s a very healthy thing.” —Tim Robbins [35:44]

• Robbins draws direct inspiration from Greek theater, which used the chorus as society’s voice in dialogue with transformative, often traumatic, events.

2. Devotion to Theater over Hollywood

• Despite film/TV offers, Robbins prioritizes small theater for its creative autonomy and power:
  • “I have complete freedom. And I’ve always, from the very start, held that to be the most important thing.” —Tim Robbins [39:53]
• The Actors Gang, his LA-based company, was founded by a group of “punk rock infused” actors who valued experimentation above prestige.

3. Roots in Street Theater and Transformative Experiences

• Robbins recounts acting in street theater as a twelve-year-old in New York, where raw audience reactions shaped his craft.
  • “Most of these people are seeing theater for the very first time... there was an awful lot of talking back, call and response.” —Tim Robbins [44:10]
• He draws a line from this to the commedia dell’arte tradition: “They were telling stories that were absolutely relevant to the world around them at the time.” —Tim Robbins [45:20]
• Robbins sees theater’s real-time potential for transformation as fundamentally different from—and more powerful than—film:
  • “Theater… can actually transform a consciousness. It can change an opinion. It can illuminate a truth in an immediate way, not in a manipulative way. Because film can be very manipulative.” —Tim Robbins [46:37]

4. The Enduring Power of Shawshank Redemption

• Robbins reflects on the film’s surprising, lasting impact:
  • “It’s a movie about a real friendship between two men, a love story in a lot of ways.” —Tim Robbins [49:13]
  • “When people come up to me and talk about that film... it’s that film changed me. That film made me think in a different way. Not to mention the times... that movie means to those that have been incarcerated is profound.” —Tim Robbins [50:12]
• He credits the story’s universal message of hope and fierce friendship as key reasons why it endures.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Ethan Hawke on addiction/loss:
  “Half of why I act sometimes is to impress those two men... They were the gauge by which I judged myself.” [16:16]
• Ethan Hawke on time:
  "I often think Father Time is the main character of all the films we've done together." [19:12]
• Tim Robbins on the role of theater:
  "I know that as a child, when I saw something transformative, something that blew my mind, I can still remember those plays... That's the power that theater has. It can actually transform a consciousness." [46:38]
• Tim Robbins on hope in Shawshank:
  "I think that prison can be a metaphor for other things in life... the idea that Andy had the long plan and could see a future that was brighter, I think that's something that people want to believe in." [48:26]

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 02:15 | Terry Gross interviews Ethan Hawke | | 03:29 | Clip from Blue Moon | | 05:53 | Hawke discusses challenges of playing Lorenz Hart | | 12:29 | Reflections on loss (River Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman) | | 18:00 | On how Boyhood and Linklater collaborations changed Hawke’s view of time | | 21:17 | On aging as an actor | | 22:45 | Clip and discussion from The Lowdown | | 24:32 | Hawke on playing Lee in The Lowdown | | 35:39 | Tonya Mosley interviews Tim Robbins | | 39:57 | Robbins on creative freedom in theater | | 42:25 | Recollections of street theater as a youth | | 46:37 | Theater’s ability to transform vs. film | | 48:26 | Shawshank Redemption’s lasting resonance | | 49:13 | Male friendship theme in Shawshank | | 50:12 | Robbins on audience reactions and prison work |

Tone & Language

Both Hawke and Robbins speak with candidness, warmth, and thoughtful intensity. Hawke brings a searching, self-deprecating humor, especially when reflecting on aging and the demands of his craft. Robbins’ tone is deeply earnest, at times philosophical, and foregrounds his lifelong commitment to theater as a site for societal reckoning and transformation.

Summary Takeaways

• Hawke reveals how his artistry is shaped by collaboration, self-examination, and a deep sensitivity to loss and change.
• Robbins champions theater’s power for real-world healing, social connection, and personal growth, contrasting it with Hollywood’s limitations.
• Both see storytelling—in any medium—as a tool for genuine transformation, whether in individuals or communities.