Ethan Hawke’s First Acting Award Was a Bong From ‘High Times’ Magazine. With ‘Blue Moon’ He’s Aiming Even Higher

After getting an Oscar nomination for his role as famed Broadway composer Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon, Ethan Hawke couldn’t help but reminisce on his long-lasting friendship with the film’s director, Richard Linklater. “I have to express my gratitude to Linklater because my first acting award I ever won was a bong from High Times magazine for my performance in Tape as the best stoned performance of the year. And, Rick just keeps giving me these things, so I’m incredibly grateful,” Hawke says.

In the indie film, Hawke transforms himself into the diminutive composer, who regales attendees at Sardi’s bar with anecdotes about his career highs in the theater and bemoans the loss of his former partnership with Richard Rodgers. Set during the opening-night party for Oklahoma!, the film almost always trains the camera on Hawke as he vacillates between charm and pleas for continued relevance in the theater world.