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"I'd be lying if I said I had confidence in every choice I've made, that I have faith in every film I do." Ethan Hawke is one of the most criminally underrated performers in all of Hollywood. While primarily known for his character work, Hawke has actually been nominated for an Oscar on four separate occasions, most recently due to his starring role in Boyhood (2015). 

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Originally slated to become one of the biggest leading men in Hollywood, Hawke has instead had a career filled to the brim with iconic performances, strong critical acclaim, and frequent award recognition. Hawke is the star of Richard Linklater's Before trilogy as well as one of the most fascinating and dynamic performers in the industry. Despite being in the industry for almost 35 years, Hawke is still showing new aspects of himself to his adoring fans.

Born in Austin

Ethan Hawke was born on November 6, 1970, in Austin, Texas. His parents were Leslie and James Hawk. Leslie worked as a charity worker while James spent his time working as an insurance actuary. Hawke's parents were married right out of high school and Ethan was born a single year later. Despite their young love, Hawke's parents would divorce in 1974 when he was only four-years-old.

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After Hawke's parents separated, Hawke would be raised by his mother. His family would relocate numerous times during his childhood before choosing to settle down in New York City. Hawke would find himself attending the Packer Collegiate Institute of Brooklyn Heights. When he was just ten, Hawke's mother would remarry, and they would relocate to New Jersey. In New Jersey, Hawke would attend West Windsor Plainsboro High School before transferring to the Hun School of Princeton.

Hawke would begin his writing career in earnest during high school, though his passions would lead him to the stage. Hawke would begin performing in multiple productions at the McCarter Theatre while also honing his skills at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School. Eventually, Hawke would go on to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh before dropping out to pursue a starring role in the 1989 film, Dead Poets Society. Hawke would then enroll at New York University before dropping out two years later in order to act full-time.

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80s Star to Critical Darling

With a strong foundation of education and a co-starring role in the Robin Williams film, Dead Poets Society, Hawke was more than ready to begin pursuing a full-time career in acting. After dropping out of college, Hawke began to focus on his acting work full-time. Hawke would then appear in the leading role of 1991's White Fang, which was an adaptation of a novel by Jack London. Hawke would round out the early 90s with appearances in Rich in Lovei (1992), Alive (1993), and White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf (1994).

Hawke wouldn't find his way to mainstream success until he was cast in the drama, Reality Bites in 1994. The film would also star an up-and-coming Winona Ryder. Roger Ebert praised the film while taking care to highlight Hawke's work, calling his performance 'subtle and strong'. Hawke would parlay that success into landing the leading role in Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise in 1995. Hawke would star as Jesse opposite of Julie Delpy. The film centered on two people who meet on a train before spending a night together in Vienna.  Hawke has since starred in both follow-up films, Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013). Hawke would score an Oscar nomination for Best Writing as a collaborator on the latter two projects.

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Before Hawke's Before trilogy could make him a star, Gattaca (1997) would get the job done. The dystopian film would put Hawke front-and-center in Hollywood as a man who is infiltrating a society of genetically modified humans. Hawke would begin to date Hollywood superstar Uma Thurman around this time, and the two would eventually get married.

After Gattaca proved to be a success, Hawke would start gaining more of a mainstream push. Hawke would land leading roles in Great Expectations (1998), The Newton Boys (1998), and Waking Life (2001). Despite being heralded for his work, Hawke wouldn't burst into star-status until his co-starring role in the hit film, Training Day (2001). Training Day was the biggest film of 2001 and it was due in large part to the intense chemistry between Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Hawke would land an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor while Washington would win the Oscar for Best Actor in the film.

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While Hawke was at the height of his Hollywood fame, he would redirect his efforts toward the stage. Hawke would return to New York City in order to perform in the Sam Shepard play, The Late Henry Moss (2001). That stage production would be followed by starring performances in The Jimmy Show (2002) as well as Hawke's directorial debut, Chelsea Walls (2002). Soon, Hawke would return to Hollywood in earnest with his Oscar-nominated work on Before Sunset. Hawke would follow that project up with a string of moderately successful appearances in Taking Lives (2004) alongside Angelina Jolie, Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), and Lord of War (2005) with Nicolas Cage.

In 2007, Hawke would land a starring role alongside Philip Seymoure Hoffman and Marisa Tomei in the drama, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. The film was critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Hawke then put on a masterful performance in What Doesn't Kill You (2008) alongside Mark Ruffalo before starring in the horror film, Daybreakers (2009). Hawke's deep dive into the horror genre would yield exceptional results in the blockbuster hit, Sinister (2012). The film grossed $87 million on a shoestring budget and Hawke would reprise his role in Sinister 2 (2015).  However, before Sinister 2, Hawke would score another Oscar nomination for his performance in the hit coming-of-age film, Boyhood (2014). Hawke would also help to launch the hit horror franchise, The Purge (2013).

In recent years, Hawke has been attached to some critically and commercially well-received projects. He would gain blockbuster status as a star in The Magnificent Seven (2016) and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) before earning more critical acclaim in First Reformed (2017). Hawke is slated to star in the Nikola Tesla biopic, Tesla (2019) as well as Cut Throat City as Jackson Symms. Hawke is also the star of a new television series titled, The Good Lord Bird (2020).

Outside of Hollywood, Hawke has spent a considerable amount of time working as a writer. Hawke released his first book, The Hottest State (1996) to relatively positive reviews. Hawke would release several follow-up novels including Ash Wednesday (2002), Rules for a Knight (2015) and Indeh: A Story of the Apache Wars (2016).

Ethan Hawk and Uma Thurman would get divorced in 2005 after seven years of marriage. They shared two children together, Roan and Maya. Hawke would then marry Ryan Shawhughes in 2008. The two are still together today, and they have two children together, Indiana and Clementine.