Overview
- Ethan Hawke’s remarks come in a new Vanity Fair career-retrospective video published this week.
- Hawke recalls Robin Williams frequently departing from scripted dialogue, acting on ideas without asking permission.
- Director Peter Weir embraced Williams’ spontaneity as long as each scene still fulfilled the screenplay’s objectives.
- Hawke says watching Weir direct a comic genius early in his dramatic career showed how differing methods can productively align.
- Dead Poets Society later became a major success, winning the Oscar for original screenplay and earning nominations for Williams, Weir, and best picture.