Recently released photos offer a first look at Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe in their new Western thriller, The Weight. The film debuted at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 26th, and these images give fans a glimpse of the movie for those who couldn’t attend.
Filming for The Weight took place over six weeks in the Bavarian Forest of Germany, which served as a stand-in for Oregon. Ethan Hawke told Entertainment Weekly it was “one of the hardest summers of [his] life.” He explained that while the movie doesn’t have a lot of traditional action, it was incredibly draining, especially just worrying about ticks while filming in the water and woods.
Check out the exclusive images from The Weight below, revealed by EW:
Ethan Hawke stars as Samuel Murphy, a recently widowed father facing money troubles. He’s determined to improve things for himself and his daughter, but a fight with an undercover police officer lands him in prison. There, Russell Crowe, as Warden Clancy, offers Murphy a deal: smuggle gold in exchange for leniency.
During filming of The Weight, the river water was barely above freezing, and the rough, rocky landscape made things even more difficult. Ethan Hawke mentioned the experience reminded him of making White Fang when he was a child. You can find more of his thoughts below:
I filmed the movie White Fang when I was young, and spent six months in Alaska doing it. It was an incredibly romantic and transformative time in my life. I still crave those experiences – going into the wilderness with a camera and creating a film.
The film takes place during the Great Depression and features characters who are resilient, self-assured, and have to be both mentally and physically tough. This was the main reason Hawke was drawn to the project, as he explains in the following interview.
I want to explore a classic idea of what it means to be a good man. I’m working on a story that focuses on the positive sides of masculinity – things like respect, helping others, being a good father, and selfless service. I want to take these traditional values and put them into an exciting, action-packed story where the main character’s morals are truly put to the test.
I was really intrigued when Ethan Hawke talked about this movie with EW. He said it’s an action movie, but not the typical kind – less about huge explosions and more about the characters and the intense situations they’re in. It sounds like a really character-focused thriller. And Pete Hammond over at Deadline went even further, calling it “pure gold,” which definitely got my attention! It seems like Padraic McKinley has created something special with this survival story.
Ethan Hawke recently appeared in the crime series The Lowdown and the Black Phone films, and he received an Oscar nomination for his work in the 2025 movie Blue Moon. Russell Crowe has been starring in thrillers like Nuremberg and Sleeping Dogs. The Weight marks the first time these two acclaimed actors have shared the screen in a feature film.
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2026-01-27 22:38