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Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, writer and film director. He landed his first feature role in the movie Explorers in 1985 opposite River Phoenix. He then appeared in a supporting role in the drama Dead Poets Society (1989), which was considered to be Hawke's break-through role. He appeared in such films as White Fang (1991), A Midnight Clear (1992), and Alive (1993) before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X drama Reality Bites, for which he received critical acclaim.
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But the truth is, I've never wanted to be a movie star - and I've been pretty clear about that.
I think most people are good at more things than the world gives them the opportunity to do.
The kindest compliments I have ever heard are when cops tell me Training Day and Assault on Precinct 13 inspired them to become cops. The funniest compliments I have ever heard are when people tell me that I love your band 'Sugar Ray.'
Encyclopedia
Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970) is an American actor, writer and film director. He landed his first feature role in the movie Explorers in 1985 opposite River Phoenix. He then appeared in a supporting role in the drama Dead Poets Society (1989), which was considered to be Hawke's break-through role. He appeared in such films as White Fang (1991), A Midnight Clear (1992), and Alive (1993) before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X drama Reality Bites, for which he received critical acclaim. In 1995, he starred in Richard Linklater's film Before Sunrise. Hawke followed this by starring in the 1998 films The Newton Boys and Great Expectations.
Hawke played the title role in Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000). The following year he was cast in a supporting role in the film Training Day (2001), for which he received a Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nomination in the category for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, his films have included the science fiction Gattaca (1997), the Before Sunrise sequel Before Sunset (2004), the action thriller Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), the political crime Lord of War (2005) and the crime drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2008).
Hawke has also appeared in numerous theater productions including The Seagull, Henry IV, The Cherry Orchard and The Coast of Utopia, for which he received a Tony Award nomination. He made his directorial debut with the 2002 independent feature Chelsea Walls. In November 2007, Hawke directed his first play, the two-act Things We Want. Aside from acting, he has written two novels, The Hottest State (1996) and Ash Wednesday (2002).
Early life
Hawke was born in Austin, Texas to Leslie Carole (née Green) and James Steven Hawke, a high-ranking executive at Conseco. His maternal grandfather, Howard Lemuel Green, served five terms in the Texas Legislature and was a minor league baseball commissioner. Hawke's parents were students at the University of Texas at the time of his birth, and separated five years later.
Hawke was raised by his mother, and the two lived in several places before settling in New York, where he attended the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights. After his mother remarried when he was 10, Hawke moved to New Jersey, where he attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South. He later transferred to the Hun School of Princeton, a secondary boarding school, from which he graduated in 1988.
Hawke wanted to be a writer throughout his high school years, but he instead began acting while at Hun School, taking classes at the McCarter Theatre on the Princeton campus. Hawke made his stage debut at the age of 13 in George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan. Hawke studied acting at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, but dropped out of the university after he was cast in Dead Poets Society (1989). He twice enrolled in New York University's English program, but dropped out in both cases to pursue acting roles.
Career
Early work
At age 14, Hawke asked his mother to let him go to a casting call in New York. Hawke made his feature film debut in the 1985 film Explorers playing a kid dreaming of aliens, opposite River Phoenix. The film received favorable reviews, but was not a box office success. Hawke admitted he stopped acting for a brief time after the release of Explorers due to the film's failure; Hawke said the disappointment was difficult to bear at his young age, and added, "I would never recommend that a kid act." In 1989, he was cast alongside Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson in the comedy drama Dad, playing Danson's son.
Hawke was cast in a supporting role in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society as Todd, a shy student transformed by an inspiring English teacher played by Robin Williams; the film's success was considered Hawke's break-through. After filming ended, Hawke revealed, "I didn't want to be an actor and I went back to college. But then the [film's] success was so monumental that I was getting offers to be in such interesting movies and be in such interesting places, and it seemed silly to pursue anything else." The film received generally favorable reviews, with Variety writing, "Hawke... gives a haunting performance."
He next appeared in White Fang, his first leading role, a film that tells the story of a friendship between a Yukon gold hunter and a wolfdog. The movie is based upon the novel by the same name by Jack London. He later appeared in the war film A Midnight Clear (1992) and Alive (1993), the latter of which was based upon Piers Paul Read's 1974 book, Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors.
1994–1998
Hawke's next part was in the Generation X drama Reality Bites (1994) as Troy, a slacker who mocks the ambitions of his girlfriend, played by Winona Ryder. Roger Ebert, in a review of Reality Bites, said Hawke was convincing and noteworthy in the film, adding, "Hawke captures all the right notes as the boorish Troy." The New York Times noted, "Mr. Hawke's subtle and strong performance makes it clear that Troy feels things too deeply to risk failure and admit he's feeling anything at all." Despite his acclaimed performance and hopes from the studio that the film would gross a substantial amount of money, Reality Bites was marked as a flop.
The following year, Hawke starred in Richard Linklater's 1995 drama Before Sunrise. The film follows a young American (Hawke) and a young French woman (Julie Delpy), who meet on a train and disembark in Vienna, where they spend the night walking around the city and getting to know one another. Barbara Shulgasser of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that Hawke and Delpy "interact so gently and simply that you feel certain that they helped write the dialogue. Each of them seems to have something personal at stake in their performances." Shulgasser concluded that their relationship "begin[s] to grow on you".
Hawke published his first novel, The Hottest State, in 1996, about a love affair between a young actor and a singer. Hawke said of the novel, "Writing the book had to do with dropping out of college, and with being an actor. I didn't want my whole life to go by and not do anything but recite lines. I wanted to try making something else. It was definitely the scariest thing I ever did. And it was just one of the best things I ever did." The Hottest State received critical reviews, with Entertainment Weekly noting, "Ethan Hawke... opens himself to rough literary scrutiny in The Hottest State. If Hawke is serious...he'd do well to work awhile in less exposed venues, perhaps focusing on shorter stories and submitting them to little magazines."
In 1997 he starred in the science fiction film Gattaca, his highest budgeted movie to date. The film received generally favorable reviews from critics, and earned $12 million worldwide at the box office. The following year, Hawke collaborated once more with director Richard Linklater in the film The Newton Boys, based on the true story of the Newton Gang, a family of bank robbers from Uvalde, Texas. Also in 1998, he appeared in Great Expectations, the contemporary film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel of the same name.
1999–2002
His only movie in 1999 was in Snow Falling on Cedars. In the movie, Hawke plays a reporter named Ishmael Chambers, who is wounded in World War II and comes home to take over his family newspaper after his father's death. It is based on David Guterson's novel of the same title. The movie received mixed reviews and Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly concluded, "Hawke scrunches himself into such a dark knot that we have no idea who Ishmael is or why he acts as he does."
Hawke's next film role was in Michael Almereyda's 2000 film Hamlet, where he played the title character, as a film student, set in contemporary New York City and adapted from William Shakespeare's play of the same name. In discussion of the film, Hawke described it as a way of making the play into film "accessible and vital." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com wrote: "Hawke certainly isn't the greatest Hamlet of living memory... but his performance reinforces Hamlet's place as Shakespeare's greatest character. And in that sense, he more than holds his own in the long line of actors who've played the part."
Hawke next took the supporting role of rookie cop Jake Hoyt in Training Day (2001), a film that follows two Los Angeles Police Department narcotics detectives over a 24-hour period in the gang neighborhoods of South Los Angeles. It also starred Denzel Washington. The film was successful at the box office, earning $104 million worldwide and garnered generally favorable reviews. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote: "For his part, Hawke... shows signs of coming to new life as a screen actor after somnolent turns in the likes of Snow Falling on Cedars. Hawke adds feisty and cunning flourishes to his part that allow him to respectably hold his own under formidable circumstances." Paul Clinton of CNN, noted that Hawke performance was "totally believable as a doe-eyed rookie going toe-to-toe with a legend [Washington]." For his performance, Hawke earned Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.
In 2001, Hawke appeared in two more Linklater movies: the psychological drama Tape, in which he plays a small-time drug dealer, and the animated Waking Life, in which he shares a single scene with former co-star Julie Deply contemplating the afterlife. In 2002, Hawke made his directorial feature debut with Chelsea Walls, and independent drama film about five struggling artists living in the famed Chelsea Hotel in New York City. Erin Meister of The Boston Globe criticized the way Hawke directed the film, writing: "...Hawke's direction, if there is any, it certainly isn't apparent. The shots are frequently bland and uneven, and the players act as though their only instruction was 'Just show up at the set and remember your lines.'" The film was critically and financially unsuccessful.
Hawke published his second novel Ash Wednesday, released in 2002, a road story about an AWOL soldier and his pregnant girlfriend. Hawke said that the novel was written in two different voices, "alternating between the soldier and his girlfriend." Helen Falconer of The Guardian complimented Hawke and noted that Ash Wednesday was "sharply and poignantly written, and makes for an intense one-sitting read." PopMatters also complimented Hawke's writing style, adding: "Hawke’s writing style is enjoyably easy. His prose moves deftly back and forth from serious to comic, and his dialogue is often dead-on."
2004–present
The critical success of Before Sunrise led Hawke to return to the role in the 2004 sequel, Before Sunset. Like its predecessor, the film was directed by Richard Linklater. It was written by Linklater, Hawke, and Julie Delpy. Before Sunset garnered an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, giving Hawke his first screenwriting Oscar nomination. Also in 2004, Hawke starred alongside Angelina Jolie in the thriller Taking Lives. The movie received negative reviews, but was a box office success.
The following year, Hawke starred in the action thriller Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), a loose remake of John Carpenter's 1976 film of the same name, with an updated plot. In the film, Hawke plays Sergeant Jake Roenick, a Detroit policeman working desk duty in a rundown police station. Assault on Precinct 13 received reasonable reviews, some critics liked the dark swift feel of the film, whilst others criticized the remake, saying that it was a poor performance in comparison to John Carpenter's original. Also in 2005, Hawke starred in the political crime thriller Lord of War opposite Nicholas Cage, playing an Interpol agent, chasing an arms dealer (Cage).
In 2006, Hawke was cast in a supporting role in the film Fast Food Nation. The screenplay by Linklater and Eric Schlosser is loosely based on Schlosser's bestselling 2001 non-fiction book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. The movie was screened at a special presentation at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. That same year, Hawke directed his second feature The Hottest State, based on his 1996 novel of the same name.
In 2007, he appeared alongside Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney in Sidney Lumet's crime drama Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. In the movie, Hawke plays an ex-husband in desperate need of child support and decides to rob his parent's jewelry store with his desperate brother (Hoffman), which leads to disastrous consequences. Claudia Puig of USA Today described the movie "highly entertaining" and said the performances by both Hawke and Hoffman were excellent. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also praised Hawke, noting that he "digs deep to create a haunting portrayal of loss."
Stage career
In 1992, Hawke made his Broadway debut portraying the playwright Konstantin Treplev in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull at the Lyceum Theater in Manhattan. The production ran from November 29, 1992 through January 10, 1993. The following year, Hawke was one of the co-founders and artistic director of Malaparte, a Manhattan theater company that is now defunct.
Hawke returned to theater in a November 2003 production of Henry IV, playing Henry Percy, also called Harry Hotspur. Paul Simon of New York magazine wrote: "Ethan Hawke’s Hotspur... is a compelling, ardent creation." Ben Brantley of the New York Times noted that Hawke's interpretation of Hotspur was "too contemporary for some tastes. It's hard to credit him as the embodiment of an older order of chivalry." Nevertheless, Brantley also said, "But he's great fun to watch as he fumes and fulminates."
In November 2006, Hawke starred as Mikhail Bakunin in Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia, a nine hour long production, at the Lincoln Center in New York. In review of the production, the Los Angeles Times complimented Hawke's take on Bakunin, writing: "Ethan Hawke buzzes in and out as Bakunin, a strangely appealing enthusiast on his way to becoming a famous anarchist." The performance earned Hawke his first Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
In November 2007, he directed Things We Want, a two-act play by Jonathan Marc Sherman, for artist-driven Off-Broadway company The New Group. The play is about four characters, three of whom are alcoholics. The production starred Paul Dano, Peter Dinklage, Josh Hamilton, and Zoe Kazan. Variety in review of the play, wrote: "...Ethan Hawke uses the space confidently, he allows his talented cast to push mannered material further into self-consciousness." New York magazine noted that Hawke should be given credit for his "understated direction," particularly for the way he directed "a gifted cast."
The following year, Hawke was honored with the Michael Mendelson Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Theater. In his acceptance speech, Hawke said, "I don’t know why they’re honoring me. I think the real reason they are honoring me is to help raise money for the theater company. Whenever the economy gets hit hard, one of the first thing to go is people’s giving, and last on that list of things people give to is the arts because they feel it’s not essential. I guess I’m here to remind people that the arts are essential to our mental health as a country."
In 2009, Hawke starred in another Anton Chekhov play, this time as Trofimov in The Cherry Orchard, playing Trofimov. Joe Dziemianowicz of the New York Daily News enjoyed his performance, writing, "Ethan Hawke... fits the image of the 'mangy' student Trofimov." However, Dziemianowicz criticized Hawke's English accent, writing, "one wishes he didn't speak with a perennial frog in his throat... no effort is made to homogenize English and American accents. That jars at first, then fades."
Personal life
On May 1, 1998, Hawke married actress Uma Thurman, whom he met on the set of Gattaca (1997). The couple have two children, daughter Maya Ray Thurman-Hawke (born July 8, 1998) and son Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke (born January 15, 2002). In 2003, Hawke and Thurman separated, amid allegations of infidelity on Hawke's part. The following year they filed for divorce. In June 2008, Hawke married Ryan Shawhughes, the former nanny to his and Thurman's children during their marriage. The wedding came a few weeks before Hawke and Ryan's daughter, Clementine Jane Hawke, was born on July 18, 2008.
Hawke lives in Chelsea, a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, and owns a small island in Tracadie, Nova Scotia. He supports the United States Democratic Party, and supported Barack Obama for President of the United States in 2008. Hawke has also given money to the campaigns of John Kerry, Tom Strickland, Mark Green, and Bill Bradley.
His family includes half-brothers Matthew and Samuel, and his stepmother Gay. His mother has been honored for her ongoing humanitarian work in Romania, where she first went as a member of the Peace Corps in 2000. She founded and runs an educational charity for Roma children in that country. Hawke is a relative of Tennessee Williams on his father's side: Cornelius Williams, father of Tennessee Williams, was Hawke's great-great-uncle.
Filmography
Bibliography
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