Ethan Hawke is one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, and there are tons of movies to prove this. Yet, despite starring performances in many movies, Ethan has yet to win an Oscar. Ethan has been nominated for the prestigious awards four times. His first nomination came in 2002. He was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as Jake Hoyt in the 2001 movie Training Day. Ethan starred alongside legendary actor Denzel Washington in the classic. Denzel won the Best Actor Award for his role as Alonzo Harris in Training Day and gave his costar Ethan some words of wisdom after he lost the Best Supporting Actor award to Jim Broadbent.
Ethan discussed Denzel’s advice during a chat with CNN’s Chris Wallace on Max’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace. During the interview, Ethan revealed what Denzel whispered in his during the Oscars, saying, “You don’t want an award to improve your status. You want to improve the award’s status.” When asked if he would have preferred winning the Oscar in 2002, Ethan replied, “No… I mean, yeah, I guess. I was at the Oscars sitting next to Denzel Washington and nominated against Ian McKellen.” He added, “I had already won. It was impossible for me not to see it any other way.”
As Denzel rightly said, Ethan doesn’t need an award to improve his status. Despite never winning an Oscar, he remains one of the best in his profession. Throughout his career, Ethan has adapted to the times and ensured he is good enough to play any role. Unsurprisingly, he has a rich movie list and has excelled in most of them. However, some stand out among the rest. Here are seven of Ethan Hawke’s best movie roles.
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7. Dead Poets Society (1989)
Ethan Hawke always gives memorable performances in his movies, and his performance in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society didn’t disappoint. He portrayed schoolboy Todd Anderson, starring alongside the late Robin Williams, who played the inspirational English teacher John Keating. Despite being one of Ethan’s earliest Hollywood roles, he portrayed the creative and anxious Todd to perfection. Through Ethan’s portrayal of Todd, viewers understood the schoolboy’s need for caring and motivational people in his life. Dead Poets Society also gave movie lovers a glimpse of how well Ethan could handle such roles.
6. Gattaca (1997)
Ethan Hawke played Vincent Freeman in the 1997 sci-fi thriller. Gattaca was Andrew Niccol’s feature directorial debut, and he didn’t think of a better person to play his lead character than Ethan. The movie also starred Jude Law, Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, and others. Ethan’s character, Vincent, was born naturally but has to deal with surviving in a society with genetically engineered people whose best traits are enhanced. Vincent faces discrimination and struggles, which he must overcome if he wants to achieve his dream of going to space. Thanks to Ethan’s excellent portrayal of the movie’s main character, viewers can feel Vincent’s pain and understand his struggles as he deals with his challenges.
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5. The Before Trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013)
Ethan Hawke starred alongside Julie Delpy in this romantic trilogy directed by Richard Linklater. The first installment, Before Sunrise, premiered in 1995, followed by Before Sunset in 2004 and Before Midnight in 2013. In the trilogy, Ethan played an American student, Jesse, who fell in love with Céline, a French girl he met on a train. The trilogy follows the lovers as they grow older and navigate different phases of their lives separately and together. Ethan and Julie displayed great onscreen chemistry in the movie, which showcased his dynamism as an actor. Hence, it wasn’t surprising that Before Sunset and Before Midnight earned Academy Awards nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.
4. Reality Bites (1994)
This Ben Stiller-directed romantic comedy told the story of a friend group who just finished college. It starred Winona Ryder as Lelaina Pierce, Ben Stiller as Michael Grates, and Ethan Hawke as Troy Dyer. As usual, Ethan excelled in his portrayal of the annoying yet charming Troy. Reality Bites is widely regarded as a Generation X movie, with many members of that generation considering it as Ethan’s definitive film.
3. First Reformed (2017)
Ethan Hawke showed his incredible ability to excel in just about any movie role with his five-star performance in First Reformed. In the film, he played Pastor Ernst Toller, a struggling local church leader dealing with a personal crisis. Ethan gave arguably one of his best acting performances in this role. Although the film focused on sensitive topics, it did so expertly, telling a powerful story backed by Ethan’s impressive acting.
2. Boyhood (2014)
Richard Linklater had every detail well-thought-out in directing this classic coming-of-age drama. The film starred Ethan Hawke alongside Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, and Ellar Coltrane. It told the story of Ella’s character Mason Evans Jr.’s childhood and adolescence while growing up in Texas. Ethan and Patricia play Mason’s divorced parents, while Lorelei portrays his sister, Samantha.
Incredibly, the movie’s filming began in 2002 and concluded in 2013. The lengthy production span was due to Richard’s quest for the film to be about growing up. Thus, the director developed the movie’s script year by year, incorporating each actor every step of the way. Also, the movie’s cast participated in writing its script and were allowed to include their life experiences in their character’s stories.
Ethan Hawke remained committed to his role in the movie and produced a strong and inspiring performance. The actor earned a second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Additionally, Boyhood is also among Ethan’s most successful Box Office movies.
1. Training Day (2001)
This crime thriller is arguably the movie that really shot Ethan into the limelight. Starring alongside the iconic Denzel Washington is no mean feat, but Ethan held his own and delivered a memorable performance in the film. Ethan played police officer Jake Hoyt, who seeks promotion and has to pair Denzel’s cop, Detective Alonzo Harris, on a training mission. The police officers encounter life-threatening scenarios as they navigate the crime-ridden neighborhoods. Ethan delivered a flawless portrayal of his character, with Denzel’s superb acting ensuring Training Day remains a classic crime thriller to this day.
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