Ethan Hawke Shaved His Head to Transform for ‘Blue Moon’ Role (Exclusive)

Ethan Hawke completely transformed for his portrayal of Broadway legend Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon. 

To get into character, the actor had to shave his head, wear a combover and adjust his posture to appear nearly a foot shorter in order to capture the American songwriter’s physical appearance. 

When it came to undergoing such a dramatic transformation, shaving his head was the easy part. “That wasn’t too time-consuming,” the actor said at the PEOPLE/EW and Shutterstock studio during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, Sept. 8.

From there, it was all about “establishing the look, figuring out how the clothes fit, and how to walk, and working on the stagecraft of how to make me basically a foot shorter,” Hawke continued. “So it was nonstop.”

Richard Linklater, who directed the biopic, adds: “It was a team effort. It was production design, costume, hair and makeup. And to get that look was— all departments had their part.”

Hawke explains, “The goal is like, ‘Okay, they could react to that for five minutes, but now you’ve got to believe the world and believe the characters.’ That’s where all the emotional life stuff happens and that, you’ve got to get the exterior things right so that they don’t blow it.” 

While Hawke completely embodies Hart, he jokes that when it comes to having to mold his body for an onscreen role, this should be the last time: “Hopefully never again!”

This isn’t the first time Hawke and Linklater, 65, have teamed up. The pair previously worked on the Before trilogy, Boyhood and other films, with Blue Moon being their latest. Because of that, the filmmaker says, “We have a shorthand.”

“But then this was really demanding something different. I was a more nagging director,” he says, noting that this film was more “technical.” As Hawke explains, “We’re inside a period. We’re inside real time. The filmmaking and acting have to be completely in sync.”

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According to TIFF’s synopsis, Blue Moon “crafts a riveting chamber piece set in real time at Sardi’s on the historic night in 1943 of Richard Rodgers’ (Andrew Scott) greatest triumph: the premiere of Oklahoma! Hawke portrays Rodgers’ former collaborator, lyricist Lorenz Hart, an alcoholic and marginally closeted raconteur grappling with the fact that Rodgers’ biggest success now belongs to a new partnership with Oscar Hammerstein.”

The film also stars Bobby Cannavale, Margaret Qualley and Patrick Kennedy.

Blue Moon is in theaters Oct. 24.