Fighting for FREEDOM

Ethan Hawke on his real-life role as a slavery abolitionist who leads a deadly raid on the US government

- HANNAH DAVIES, RICHARD MCCLURE

For those of us who remember him as an idealistic young schoolboy in 1989 movie Dead Poets Society, it’s something of a shock to discover that Ethan Hawke turned 50 on 6 November.

And the Hollywood star admits his advancing years only dawned on him when it came to casting the role of real-life 19th-century abolitionist John Brown in Sky Atlantic drama The Good Lord Bird, for which Hawke is also an executive producer.

‘When I first started thinking about bringing the story to the screen, I thought about Jeff Bridges playing John Brown,’ says Hawke. ‘And then slowly I realized that I’m a lot older than I thought I was and that I could play this part. I got really passionate about it.’