Ethan Hawke drives hard in Getaway

MANILA, Philippines - Brent Magna used to race cars for a living. Now, he’s racing for his wife’s life. Academy Award-nominee Ethan Hawke stars as Brent in Warner Bros. Pictures’ fast and furious thriller, Getaway.

Brent is at the mercy of an unseen assailant, a voice at the other end of a GPS speaker, because his wife is at the mercy of this clever criminal. Brent’s only tool is the skill he once exercised on the track as a pro. He is now pushing that resource to its absolute limit and beyond.

Hawke relates, “My character fell from grace in the racing world and moved to Europe to try and start over. He used to miss his career, but now that he’s found a different life with the woman he adores, he’s happy. Suddenly all that is in jeopardy.”

“You feel for Brent,” director Courtney Solomon says. “He’s a regular guy, sort of beaten down, and now the thing he cares about most is taken from him. He loves his wife so much that he’s risking life and limb to get her back. Ethan delivered a remarkable performance.”

Hawke admits it was a challenge to be in a limited space for the entire film. He explains, “Every scene for my character happens from the same seat. So it was interesting to dig for the emotional nuances while not having as much freedom of movement.”

“My favorite car is the ‘68 Shelby fastback Mustang, so I was immediately hooked,” Hawke attests. “Going off to Europe, racing cars around, banging up motorcycles and Mustangs and BMWs, old school, like those great ‘70s movies I loved growing up... Some 13-year-old boy that lives in me has always wanted to do a movie like this,” he smiles. “The film thrills me because it has a visceral feel to it. You can tell some metal was really scraped against some asphalt. There’s some real adrenaline to it.”

Opening on Oct. 16 in theaters nationwide, Getaway is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.