Ethan Hawke revealed that he has grown “angry” with Tom Cruise, explaining that the “Mission: Impossible” star’s high-risk stunt work has changed what audiences and studios expect from actors across Hollywood.
The 55-year-old actor appeared at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival to promote his new movie “The Weight,” which premiered on Jan. 26. During an interview with Variety, Hawke, who performed most of his own stunts in the Depression-era action-drama, expressed his view that Cruise has raised the bar for actors when it comes to performing their own stunts, a shift that he finds frustrating.
“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,” Hawke said.
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“What I liked about our movie is that there were no ridiculous stunts,” he said of “The Weight.”
“It’s human. It’s not about things blowing up, so most of the stunts were things we could do,” Hawke added. “They weren’t superhero things.”
While Cruise, 63, has never appeared in a superhero movie from Marvel, DC or any other comic-book franchise, the actor cemented his status as an action movie icon by insisting on performing increasingly dangerous, real-world stunts himself in blockbuster franchises including “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun” and “Jack Reacher.”
“Mission: Impossible” director Christopher McQuarrie has previously said that the actor has “no limits” when it comes to the dangerous feats he attempts to accomplish.
Some of Cruise’s most jaw-dropping stunts include hanging onto the outside of an airplane during takeoff, free-falling from a helicopter, climbing the world’s tallest building and riding a motorcycle off a cliff before base-jumping into a ravine.
While speaking with Variety alongside Hawke, “The Weight” director Padraic McKinley interjected to say the actor was downplaying the scale of his physical effort.
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“Ethan is not saying that he did every single stunt, including driving those old cars with insane clutches,” said McKinley, who previously worked with Hawke on the Western film “The Good Lord Bird.”
“He did every single one, except one little wide shot after he almost tore his hamstring off the bone,” he added.
“The Weight,” which is set in 1933 Oregon, follows widower Samuel Murphy (Hawke), who is separated from his daughter and sent to a brutal work camp. To earn his freedom and a chance to reunite with his child, he agrees to a perilous mission to smuggle gold across dangerous wilderness terrain under the watch of a labor camp warden.
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Hawke’s stunt work for the movie included navigating rugged wilderness terrain, enduring prolonged exposure to cold and water — including holding his breath underwater in a freezing river — engaging in intense physical confrontations and handling period vehicles under tough conditions.
The five-time Oscar nominee also reflected on why he was drawn to the project, saying he connected with his character’s determination to cross great distances and endure brutal conditions to be reunited with his daughter.
Hawke — father to daughter Maya, 27, and son Levon, 24, with ex-wife Uma Thurman, and daughters Clementine, 17, and Indiana, 14, with his wife Ryan Shawhughes Hawke — told Variety that he drew on some of his own experiences as a parent to portray Samuel.
“It’s about love. That’s what makes the script timeless,” Hawke said. “Some of the best action movies of all time are oriented about something real.”
