Ethan Hawke Recounts ‘Wonderful’ Wicklow Experience As ‘Blue Moon’ To Hit Cinemas

Ethan Hawke hopes to work in Ireland again after ‘wonderful’ Blue Moon filming which saw scenes shot at Ardmore studios in Bray ahead of its release this week in Irish cinemas.

Ethan Hawke has said he had a “wonderful” experience filming his latest movie, Blue Moon, in Co. Wicklow and would love to work here again.

His latest collaboration with director Richard Linklater was shot primarily in Dublin, with production also taking place at Ardmore Studios in Bray.

Set in March 1943, Blue Moon follows Broadway lyricist Lorenz ‘Larry’ Hart on the opening night of Oklahoma!, a musical by his former colleague Richard Rodgers.

The film, written by Robert Kaplow, stars Hawke as Hart, Andrew Scott as Rodgers and Margaret Qualley as Elizabeth Weiland, a Yale student with whom Hart is infatuated.

It also features Irish actor Simon Delaney as Oscar Hammerstein. The majority of the story is set in Sardi’s, the legendary restaurant on Manhattan’s West 44th Street, but for the film Linklater and his team recreated it in Dublin.

Hawke, a long-time collaborator of Linklater’s best known for the Before trilogy and Boyhood, gushed about his experience in Ireland.

“There’s so many great actors coming in and out. I left there going, I really hope I get to make another movie there. It was a wonderful place to work,” the 55-year-old told the PA news agency.

During his time locally in mid summer 2024 , Mr. Hawke took time out from his busy schedule at Ardmore to drop into Bray’s Caffe Vergnano at the Strand Hotel, on the seafront during filming for Blue Moon.

At the time staff remarked to the Wicklow People that it was a pleasure to have “such a nice guy” in their popular cafe.

Linklater (65) added: “We had great Irish partners, so much talent around a great crew. We had to build Sardi’s somewhere and it just worked out perfectly that we were able to in Ireland.”

Blue Moon explores the artistic break-up of the Broadway songwriting pair Hart and Rodgers, as well as the bittersweet end of an era for Hart.

Hawke explains: “Poor Larry has so much to be proud of and instead he’s heartbroken.

“The party ending is always hard. He has 25 years of writing significant, amazing poetry and being heralded for it, he just doesn’t want it to stop.”

 “I know artists think we’re just going to go forever, but you never know in life,” he said.

“Your tastes can change. In this movie, it’s not only the artistic break-up between him and Rodgers, but also the times are changing. His kind of show tunes and musicals are becoming passe. It’s a new era.

“So the times are leaving him behind as well. It’s kind of poignant, you realise there’s an expiration date on your art. You think about yourself but, fortunately, great art does survive.”

BLUE MOON hits Cinemas on Friday (November 28th)