Tom Cruise’s jaw-dropping stunts have long set the bar for action films, but it seems not everyone in Hollywood is a fan of the extreme expectations they create. Ethan Hawke, who stars in the Depression-era drama The Weight, admits that seeing Cruise’s high-flying antics has stirred some frustration. While Hawke usually performs his own stunts, he prefers action that feels real and human, rather than over-the-top spectacle.
Tom Cruise’s stunt work has made this Blue Moon actor angry
In The Weight, Ethan Hawke plays a widower fighting to reunite with his daughter while surviving a brutal work camp. The role throws him into intense moments, scrapping in physical fights, and holding his breath in icy rivers.
At Variety’s Sundance Studio, the Blue Moon alum called out Tom Cruise for raising the bar on what audiences expect from actors, admitting it sometimes frustrates him that actors get flak for depending on stunt teams. “Tom Cruise has totally changed what’s expected for actors. Some part of me is getting angry over the years because everyone somehow feels like they’re less if they use a stunt team,” he stated.
“What I liked about our movie is there were no ridiculous stunts. It’s human. It’s not about things blowing up, so most of the stunts were things we could do. They weren’t superhero things,” the actor further said.
Director Padraic McKinley had nothing but praise for the actor’s commitment. While he admitted that Hawke didn’t do “every single stunt” like driving beat-up cars with crazy clutches, he did everything else, except one, where the Strange Way of Life actor nearly tore his “hamstring off the bone.”
Hawke also shared how being a parent shaped the way he approached The Weight. “It’s about love. That’s what makes the script timeless,” he explained. Notably, Hawke also had the chance to work closely with family on screen, having directed his daughter Maya Hawke in the indie flick Wildcat.
