Ethan Hawke made his debut in the 1985 American science fantasy film ‘Explorers’ directed by Joe Dante. Despite opening to positive reviews, the film failed to achieve success at the box office. Nevertheless, the film gained a strong cult following in the subsequent years. He was next seen playing the role of ‘Chris’ in the 1988 short film ‘Lion’s Den.’ In 1989, he starred as ‘Todd Anderson’ in the American teen comedy-drama film ‘Dead Poets Society’ directed by Peter Weir. The film opened to wide critical acclaim and was a massive financial success, grossing over $235.9 million on a budget of $16.4 million. He played the role of ‘Jack Conroy’ in the American Northern adventure drama film ‘White Fang’ directed by Randal Kleiser. The film received a positive response from critics and was a financial success. He next appeared in films like ‘Mystery Date’ (1991), ‘Waterland’ (1992), ‘A Midnight Clear’ (1992), ‘Alive’ (1993), ‘Floundering’ (1994), ‘White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf’ (1994), ‘Before Sunrise’ (1995), ‘Gattaca’ (1997), ‘Great Expectations’ (1998), ‘The Velocity of Gary’ (1999), and ‘Hamlet’ (2000).
The year 2001 saw the release of the American crime thriller film ‘Training Day’ where Hawke was seen playing the role of ‘Officer Jake Hoyt.’ The film received mostly positive reviews and did decent business at the box office. Hawke also received the ‘Academy Award’ and ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ nominations for his performance in the film. ‘Training Day’ also inspired a television series of the same name in 2017. He received another ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his performance as ‘Jesse Wallace’ in the American romantic drama film ‘Before Sunset’ directed by Richard Linklater. The film opened to wide critical acclaim and was a financial success. In 2005, he starred as ‘ATF Agent Jack Valentine’ in the American crime drama film ‘Lord of War’ directed by Andrew Niccol. The film opened to mostly positive reviews from critics.
Hawke went on to star in films like ‘The Hottest State’ (2006), ‘Fast Food Nation’ (2006), ‘Before the Devil Knows You're Dead’ (2007), ‘What Doesn't Kill You’ (2008), ‘New York, I Love You’ (2008), ‘Brooklyn's Finest’ (2009), ‘Staten Island’ (2009), ‘The Woman in the Fifth’ (2011), and ‘Sinister’ (2012). He reprised his role as ‘Jesse Wallace’ in the 2013 American romantic drama film ‘Before Midnight,’ the third film in the ‘Before trilogy.’ The film saw universal acclaim and was a major box office success, grossing over $23.3 million on a budget of $3 million. Hawke also became a recipient of the ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his role. He went on to receive another ‘Academy Award’ nomination for his portrayal of ‘Mason Evans Sr.’ in the 2014 American epic coming-of-age drama film ‘Boyhood’ directed by Richard Linklater. The film was a massive critical success and made good numbers at the box office. He next appeared in films like ‘Predestination’ (2014), ‘Good Kill’ (2014), ‘Ten Thousand Saints’ (2015), ‘Born to Be Blue’ (2015), ‘In a Valley of Violence’ (2016), ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (2016), ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ (2017), ‘24 Hours to Live’ (2017), ‘Stockholm’ (2018), ‘The Kid’ (2019), and ‘Tesla’ (2020).
He was last seen in the 2021 American supernatural horror film ‘The Black Phone’ where he played the role of ‘The Grabber.’ The film received generally positive reviews from critics who praised the performance of Hawke. He is all set to appear in the upcoming American epic historical film ‘The Northman’ directed by Robert Eggers. He will also be seen in the upcoming American mystery film ‘Knives Out 2.’
