Ethan Hawke
Overview
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers
Explorers (film)
Explorers is a 1985 family-oriented science-fiction fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. It was the first feature film for both Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix.It was filmed in 70mm color with 6-track sound, and runs for 109 minutes...

, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society
Dead Poets Society is a 1989 American drama film directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin Williams. Set at the conservative and aristocratic Welton Academy in Vermont in 1959, it tells the story of an English teacher who inspires his students through his teaching of poetry.The script was written...

which is considered his breakthrough role. He then appeared in such films as White Fang
White Fang (1991 film)
White Fang is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Randal Kleiser, starring Ethan Hawke, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Seymour Cassel. Based on the novel White Fang by Jack London, it tells the story of the friendship between a Yukon gold hunter and a wolfdog.White Fang is portrayed by a wolfdog,...

(1991), A Midnight Clear
A Midnight Clear
A Midnight Clear is a 1992 American war film directed by former actor Keith Gordon with an ensemble cast featuring Ethan Hawke, Gary Sinise, Peter Berg, Kevin Dillon, and Arye Gross...

(1992), and Alive
Alive (1993 film)
Alive is a 1993 American movie based upon Piers Paul Read's 1974 book Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, which details the story of a Uruguayan rugby team who were involved in the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which crashed into the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972.The film was...

(1993) before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...

 drama Reality Bites
Reality Bites
Reality Bites is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and featuring the directorial debut of Ben Stiller. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller, with major supporting roles played by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film was shot on location in Austin...

, for which he gained critical acclaim.
Quotations

Actors write movies all the time - but you try fiction and you're an asshole. Everyone wants to try new things, or almost everyone. Really great supporting actors want to play the lead, and lead actors secretly wish they could be character actors. Brad Pitt doesn't want to be pretty! You know what I mean? Everybody in the world wants to look like Brad Pitt, and Brad Pitt wants to look like a regular guy.

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.

People look at your life and see things as a big deal that aren't a big deal to you. What I mean is, the chapter breaks are different for me. I'll read about my divorce, and what people think about it, and, well, it's so inaccurate, usually, but the fact is, I wouldn't want it to be accurate. Because it's my truth. When I was younger, it was more important to me to come off well. Now, I just want to try to be good at what I do.

The devil is seductive, and so guns are glorious in the culture. I understand there's a case to be made. For instance, Spike Lee said something like this, that you can't have a scene with drugs in a film that doesn't secretly make you want to do drugs. In the same vein, it's hard to make a movie that's anti-violence because the very nature of photographing violence eroticises it. But I'm not so sold that that's true.

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.'"

 
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