Ethan Hawke

The Reality Bites, Training Day and Boyhood star, 47, has a “musical” double feature in theaters now: He stars in the romantic comedy Juliet, Naked as elusive rocker Tucker Crowe, who strikes up an unlikely relationship with the girlfriend (Rose Byrne) of one of his biggest fans (Chris O’Dowd). And Hawke directed Blaze, based on the life story of late Texas country singer Blaze Foley (played by musician Ben Dickey).

Successful romantic comedies are so rare these

days. So many of them struggle. In the old days, they used to make great romantic comedies. It was such a pleasure to go see Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn or Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine. It’s a form I just love. Truthfully, I haven’t made one since

Reality Bites. I was happy to be back in the saddle with Juliet, Naked.

What about Tucker appealed to you? He’s somebody who, in the pursuit of music, art and singing, got lost and later in life is finding himself again. He became a big shot, achieved at a high level and then turned his back on it. I’ve spent a better part of my life on film sets wanting to sometimes just drive away and disappear.

You were a fan of Blaze Foley, who died in 1989.

Why tell his story now? For a long time I’ve been friends with [musician] Ben Dickey. One night, Ben started playing Blaze’s “Clay Pigeons.” They’re both from Arkansas, close in height, incredibly funny and had big, red beards. I said to Ben, “You should play Blaze Foley in a movie.” And the hair on the back of my neck stuck up.

Your daughter Maya starred in Little Women and Stranger Things. How proud of a papa are you? Embarrassingly so. It’s so wonderful to watch your kid find her own voice, make her own way and excel at something she cares about. I wish that for any parent.