Ethan Hawke (and Ethan Hawke’s majestic furrowed brow) were busy opening True West opposite Paul Dano Thursday night, two days after the Oscar nominations were announced. Even though Hawke’s brilliant First Reformed performance was snubbed (despite winning a bounty of critics’ awards), Vulture asked him how happy he is that the story about a pastor’s crisis of faith earned Paul Schrader his very first Oscar nomination. “You know, if you had told me when I finished that movie that Paul Schrader would get his first Oscar nomination for this film, I probably would’ve cried. Paul puts so much of himself in this,†Hawke said. “The idea of these awards things are basically to turn people onto movies, and let them know that these movies are good. I have a feeling that a lot more people will see the movie because of this, and that’s the point. But I hope he wins, to be frank. His contribution is so monumental to movies that I hope the Academy lets him win. That would be amazing for me.â€
The last time Hawke spoke with Vulture, he mentioned the time someone stole his journal out of his bag at an airport. (True West also features a very funny scene about stolen toasters.) Has Hawke himself ever stolen anything? “I have four kids, I can’t talk about stealing things,†he grinned. “I remember the first time I stole anything. I’ve already apologized to them. There’s a used-record shop called the Princeton Record Exchange, and I went in and I totally pocketed the Doors’ first album. I enjoyed the hell out of it, and I’ve stolen a lot of records from the Princeton Record Exchange. I spent much of my high-school years there, and I didn’t have the money for the records and I wanted them. I enjoyed my kleptomania at the Princeton Record Exchange. I hope they don’t have me on file.â€