Ethan Hawke, a versatile actor, writer, and director, reflects on his dynamic career, starting from his breakout role in 'Dead Poets Society' under Robin Williams’ mentorship. He candidly discusses the challenges and ridicule he faced as a young novelist with 'The Hottest State.' Delving into his creative evolution, he shares insights on his intimate 'Before' trilogy and what it means to balance ambition with authenticity. Hawke also opens up about midlife doubts, the pressures of public life, and the transformative power of listening in acting.
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insights INSIGHT
Risk Means Accepting Mockery
Success invites ridicule and forces you to test whether you truly belong in a field.
Ethan Hawke says being willing to be mocked separates pretension from genuine risk-taking.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Make The Attempt Regardless Of Opinion
Do the work even if you risk being mocked; the attempt matters more than outside approval.
Hawke argues value lies in making the effort, not in external validation.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Child Audition Turned Major Break
Ethan Hawke landed The Explorers at 13 after tagging along to an audition and later befriended River Phoenix.
Early failure of that film taught him not everything handed to you will succeed.
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Success came to Ethan Hawke when he was young, and across a wide spectrum. He landed a major motion picture, “The Explorers,” at 13, off his first audition. His second film, at 18, under Robin Williams’ tutelage on and off screen, was the now-classic “Dead Poets Society.” He’s been an established star ever since. At age 24, In the midst of his early film successes, he published “The Hottest State.” Hawke admits that adding “novelist” to his resume made him an easy target for ridicule. The word “pretentious” has been thrown at him countless times, often by foes, a few times by friends, even by himself. His response? “It beats not trying.”He did keep trying, and with this true renaissance man’s every career milestone over 20-plus years, the naysaying is drowned out by the praise. His insecure high-schooler Todd in “Dead Poets Society,” ultimate slacker Troy in “Reality Bites,” sincere rookie partner to sleazeball cop Denzel Washington in “Training Day,” his soulful Jesse in the “Before Sunrise” trilogy and most recently his increasingly less immature father Mason Sr. in “Boyhood,” as well as his critically beloved screenplays for the trilogy, which he co-wrote with Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater, have entrenched him in the top tier of the film industry, with four Oscar nominations. He has the faith of stage producers and directors as well: He’s done Shakespeare, Chekhov, and three plays with Tom Stoppard. His second novel, “Ash Wednesday,” was a best seller, and inspired The New York Times to write: “He displays a novelist’s innate gifts. He has a sharp eye, a fluid storytelling voice and the imagination to create complicated individuals.”A funny thing happened as Hawke, and his career, ripened into maturity: He morphed from embodying the essence of perpetually promising youth – ”I’d always been the youngest at everything” -- to a personification of the wisdom that comes with the passage of time. In the Sunrise trilogy, 18 years in the making, and “Boyhood,” 12 years in the making, we watched Hawke get older, less idealistic, more attuned to life’s ups and downs, meeting life’s challenges realistically, if not always admirably. On screen, he’s let himself wise up, screw up and then get up and move on, older and smarter. In his real life, he takes these lessons to heart. Now, in his latest film, he moves behind the camera to show the world someone who’s played the game of life even more skillfully than he, someone who embodies an ethos that Hawke has embraced: In the grand scheme, it’s not about growing up, it’s not about growing old, it’s simply about growing.
Off Camera with Sam Jones 
