ethan hawke in a valley of violence
Ethan Hawke is finally old enough to be in a Western
01:57 - Source: CNNMoney

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Ethan Hawke reveals he's been waiting his whole life to star in a western

Hawke says his co-star John Travolta is one of the greatest actors alive

The real scene stealer is Hawke's co-star, Jumpy the dog.

CNN  — 

It’s the year of the western for Ethan Hawke.

Hawke, 45, who recently starred in the box office hit, “The Magnificent Seven” is putting on his cowboy hat once again in “In a Valley of Violence.”

“I’ve been waiting to make a western my whole life,” Hawke said. “It’s like I’m finally old enough. You have to have a few cracks in your face and your voice has to have gone south of pitch perfect and you get to be in a western.”

Hawke plays Paul, a drifter making his way to Mexico with his dog, Abbie. But things take a dark turn when they stumble upon the nearly deserted town of Denton and are made well aware that they are not welcome. John Travolta stars opposite Hawke as the town’s marshal and in one scene the two take part in the ultimate western shootout. This is the first film they’ve starred in together.

Related Link: ‘Magnificent Seven’ cast on how diversity helped make a modern western

“You hear the name John Travolta and you think, all right he’s a star and everything, and then you meet him and that’s one thing, but when you work with him you realize, ‘oh, you’re famous for a reason.’” Hawke said. “He’s an amazing actor … the guy’s brilliant. I think he’s Daniel Day-Lewis great, and by that, I mean it just doesn’t get better than that.”

But Hawke admits the real scene stealer in the film has four legs and a tail – Abbie, a border collie mix whose real name is Jumpy. Her trainer, Omar von Muller, famously trained Uggie from 2011’s “The Artist.”

“Jumpy was the best,” he said. “I say this with all respect to Jed, who was my scene partner in ‘White Fang.’ Jumpy has taken it to a new level. There’s scenes in the outtakes of this movie that should be in the movie. Some of the most amazing scene work I’ve ever done was with this dog, Jumpy, and it had nothing to do with me.”

“In a Valley of Violence” opens October 21.