Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles Gush Over Taylor Swift Music Video Cameos

Dead Poets Society stars Ethan Hawke and Josh Charles took to Instagram to gush over their cameos in Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” music video.

“‘Todd’ & ‘Knox’ from DEAD POETS SOCIETY are now PhDs in THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. It’s quite an honor,” Hawke wrote via Instagram on Friday, April 19, alongside a carousel of black and white photos from the set of “Fortnight,” the first music video released for 34-year-old Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Hawke concluded, “Thank you @taylorswift for the opportunity to be in the music video for your song FORTNIGHT feat. @postmalone. carpe diem!”

Hawke and Charles starred together in 1989’s Oscar-winning film Dead Poets Society as Todd Anderson and Knox Overstreet, respectively. Directed by Peter Weir, the film starred Robin Williams as an unconventional but inspiring English teacher at an all-boys school who encouraged his students to, “Carpe diem. Seize the day.”

The “Fortnight” music video reunites the two actors in a Bride of Frankenstein-esque scene as scientists experimenting on Swift’s character after a failed relationship. They are joined by Post Malone, who also serves as her collaborator on the song.

“I’ve admired Taylor for a long time, but meeting her in person took my fandom to a whole new level,” Charles wrote via Instagram on Friday. “Genuine, kind, approachable, and just an all around stellar human being — Not to mention a kick ass director to boot! #TSTTPD.”

The music video for “Fortnight” dropped just hours after the release of The Tortured Poets Department. Swift, who wrote and directed the music video as well, explained her decision to cast Hawke and Charles.

“When I was writing the Fortnight music video, I wanted to show you the worlds I saw in my head that served as the backdrop for making this music,” Swift shared via Instagram. “Pretty much everything in it is a metaphor or a reference to one corner of the album or another. For me, this video turned out to be the perfect visual representation of this record and the stories I tell in it.”

She further praised Malone as her collaborator, saying that he “blew [her] away on set as our tortured tragic hero and I’m so grateful to him for everything he put into this collaboration.”

She added, “I’m still laughing from getting to work with the coolest guys on earth, @ethanhawke and @mrjoshcharles (tortured poets, meet your colleagues from down the hall, the dead poets).”