Ethan Green Hawke is a four-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, writer and film director.In 1988, Hawke was cast in a role in director Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society; the film's success was considered Hawke's breakthrough. He left school and appeared in A Midnight Clear, Alive, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, The Newton Boys, Great Expectations, and many other movies. In 2001, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Training Day. Hawke directed Chelsea Walls and has written two novels, The Hottest State (in 1996) and Ash Wednesday (in 2002). In 2005, he received his first screenwriting Oscar nomination for co-writing the 2004 film, Before Sunset (a sequel to Before Sunrise). From October 2006 through May 2007, he was in The Coast of Utopia by Tom Stoppard at Lincoln Center in New York, playing Mikhail Bakunin. For this performance, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School in central New Jersey, but is not pictured in the yearbook (1984-1986).
Attended and graduated from the Hun School of Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey.
Published his first novel, "The Hottest State". The novel sold for $400,000 to Little, Brown and Company.
Was in a production of "Great Expectations" at West Windsor Plainsboro High School.
Was accepted by Carnegie-Mellon University, School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but dropped out after only 5 months.
Proposed to ex-wife Uma Thurman twice before she said yes.
Childhood friends with director Bryan Singer ( The Usual Suspects , X-Men ).
His cat appeared in Lisa Loeb s music video "Stay (I Missed You)", which he directed.
Has appeared in two film adaptations of William Wharton novels: Dad and A Midnight Clear .
He was the original choice to play FBI Agent Will Graham in Red Dragon , but turned the role down to take time off from making movies.
His parents were University of Texas students when Ethan was born, and they separated when he was three.
Says that he is constantly mistaken for Mark McGrath from the band Sugar Ray so often that he signs autographs as "Mark McGrath" and, apparently, the same thing happens to Mark McGrath who, in turn, signs autographs as "Ethan Hawke" to fans.
Met and became friends with River Phoenix during the making of Explorers .
When he was in the seventh grade, he played Lon in West Windsor-Plainsboro junior high school production of the play "Meet Me in St. Louis".
Remains close friends with Dead Poets Society co-stars, Robert Sean Leonard and Josh Charles. Because of that movies theme - triumph of the human spirit - Hawke laughingly refers to it as "One Flew Over the Robins Nest" (due in part to Robin Williams s starring role).
Attended the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York, for one year.
First cousin twice removed of Tennessee Williams. Hawkes great grandfather and Williams father were brothers.
Close friends with actor/director Frank Whaley , whom he met while filming A Midnight Clear .
On Fathers Day 2004, he went to a New York Yankees game with his children.
Is a huge fan of the Star Wars movie series.
Co-founded the now-defunct theater company called "Malaparte" with Robert Sean Leonard , Frank Whaley and Steve Zahn.
Very good friends with Catalina Sandino Moreno and Julie Delpy.
Stepbrother Patrick Powers is a Green Beret who served a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, and is currently (late 2006/early 2007) serving a six-month tour in Iraq.
Turned down the role of Bobby Mercer in Four Brothers . He loved the script but could not commit to this because of scheduling conflicts. The role eventually went to Mark Wahlberg.
His first acting role was at McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, at age 12.
His mother is a strict vegetarian and animal rights activist.
Is a huge fan of the rock band Wilco.
Five Easy Pieces , One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Reds are among his favorite films.
To prepare for his role in the film version of Hamlet , he spent the summer before filming attending three study sessions a week with a friend who had played the role on the stage.
Took a year off acting after Training Day to complete his novel "Ash Wednesday".
Twice during his 20s, he took a two-year leave of absence, once to attend NYU and study English (he dropped out when a role came up), and then to write a novel.
In Before Sunset (which he co-wrote with Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater ), Hawkes character Jesse is in a failing marriage with a woman he married because she had become pregnant. Soon after the films release, Hawke divorced his real-life wife Uma Thurman , whom he had married while she was pregnant with their first child.
(March 2004) He was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, Texas.
He was considered for the role of Gordie Lachance in Rob Reiner s Stand by Me , which went to Wil Wheaton.
He was considered for the role of Sean Dignam in Martin Scorsese s The Departed , which went to Mark Wahlberg.
Former brother-in-law of Dechen Thurman , Ganden Thurman and Mipam Thurman.
Former son-in-law of Robert Thurman and Nena Thurman.
Son of Leslie Hawke and Jim Hawke - they divorced in 1974. Stepson of David Weiss. He has five stepsisters and one stepbrother.
Has English, Scottish, and Scots-Irish (Northern Irish) ancestry.
Became a father for the first time at age 27 when his wife Uma Thurman gave birth to their daughter Maya Ray Hawke, aka Maya Thurman-Hawke , on July 8, 1998.
Became a father for the second time at age 31 when his wife Uma Thurman gave birth to their son Levon Green Hawke, aka Roan Thurman-Hawke , on January 15, 2002.
Became a father for the third time at age 37 when his wife Ryan Shawhughes-Hawke gave birth to their daughter Clementine Jane Hawke on July 18, 2008.
Has appeared in two film adaptations of Shakespearean plays which were set in the present day: Hamlet and Cymbeline .
He played Sam Shepard s son in both Snow Falling on Cedars and Hamlet .
Has appeared in eight films directed by Richard Linklater : Before Sunrise , The Newton Boys , Waking Life , Tape , Before Sunset , Fast Food Nation , Before Midnight and Boyhood .
Has appeared in three films that have been Oscar nominated for Best Picture: Dead Poets Society , Quiz Show , and Boyhood .
Hes from the same city as Steve Austin and Dabney Coleman.
(February 2012) Currently resides in New York City.
I think most people are good at more things than the world gives them,the opportunity to do.
After Reality Bites (1994) came out, I had opportunities to be a,different kind of actor, and rightly or wrongly, I grew up in a,household where there was such anger and resentment towards anyone who,had any money, that I never really had any desire to make any money.
I had a huge depression when my marriage split up. But,Before Sunset (2004) and Hurlyburly (1998) ended up being,these giant vents for me, to let it blow through. No matter how screwed,up I was, I was never as screwed up as Eddy in,Hurlyburly (1998) , the woman-hater.
Casino (1995) was wildly underrated because it came out after,Goodfellas (1990) .
[on the Before trilogy] The first film is about what could be, the,second is about what should have been. Before Midnight (2013) is,about what it is.
Often we imagine that we will work hard until we arrive at some distant goal, and then we will be happy. This is a delusion. Happiness is the result of a life lived with purpose. Happiness is not an objective. It is the movement of life itself, a process, and an activity. It arises from curiosity and discovery. Seek pleasure and you will quickly discover the shortest path to suffering. Other people, friends, brothers, sisters, neighbors, spouses, even your mother and I are not responsible for your happiness. Your life is your responsibility, and you always have the choice to do your best. Doing your best will bring happiness. Do not be overconcerned with avoiding pain or seeking pleasure. If you are concentrating on the results of your actions, you are not dedicated to your task.
Those who cannot easily forgive will not collect many friends. Look for the best in others and yourself.
A knight sets out to illuminate the darkness in society, not from its leaves but from its roots. This is how justice will be realized. Find the source,Arrogance is born of insecurity. Pride is different. It is born of dignity, self-worth, and self-respect. We all see the world through the prism of our identity. If our self-worth is low, it affects everything we do. The point of life is to contribute to others, but without a certain self-regard, it is sometimes difficult to make breakfast.
We all see the world through the prism of our identity.
Oddly, with discipline, structure, and order, you will find freedom, anything is possible. Without it, locating your saddle may take all morning.
The biggest problem in my life is trying to be the kind of man that I want to be, the father that I want to be, and how to process the failure of my marriage.
