{"id":35312,"date":"2025-09-24T15:10:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/35312\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T15:10:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T15:10:12","slug":"best-ethan-hawke-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/35312\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Ethan Hawke Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Ethan Hawke\u2019s greatest attributes as an actor is that he makes things look easy. That\u2019s not to say that the star doesn\u2019t put the work in<\/a> \u2014 you don\u2019t get Emmy and Tony nominations, write several books, and direct your own films when you\u2019re just coasting.<\/p>\n

But since his emergence as a movie star in the \u201990s, the Austin-born actor has always had a laidback, easygoing vibe that\u2019s made his movie star swagger seem effortless and allowed him to sink convincingly into most every part he\u2019s ever taken. That attitude made him something of a Gen X icon in his day, when he starred in films like \u201cReality Bites\u201d and \u201cBefore Sunrise.\u201d As he\u2019s gotten older<\/a>, he hasn\u2019t lost that sense of cool, but has brought it to older, wiser, and more seasoned characters, like the hip if immature father he brought to life in \u201cBoyhood.\u201d And, when Hawke departs from those types with roles he doesn\u2019t seem an obvious fit for, he shows that he\u2019s more than capable of shedding that image for something more severe, like with his transformative and stunning work in Paul Schrader\u2019s \u201cFirst Reformed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breaking through with 1989\u2019s \u201cDead Poets Society,\u201d Hawke has also shown himself to have great taste in film roles, constantly choosing interesting projects that have kept him fairly prominent throughout his decades in Hollywood. His most consistent collaborator is Richard Linklater, with whom he first worked with for \u201cBefore Sunrise,\u201d eventually co-writing the sequels to the film alongside his co-star Julie Delpy. He also worked with him on \u201cBoyhood,\u201d gaining much acclaim for his performance in the time-hopping coming-of-age drama. Through his career, he\u2019s starred in great films, co-wrote quite a few of them, and even directed a few of his own, including \u201cChelsea Walls,\u201d \u201cThe Hottest State,\u201d and the HBO Max documentary series \u201cThe Last Movie Stars.\u201d And he\u2019s shown that his star power can translate to TV, where\u2019s he\u2019s given great performances in series like \u201cMoon Knight\u201d and especially \u201cThe Good Lord Bird.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Hawke starring in the new TV series \u201cThe Lowdown,\u201d<\/a> IndieWire has taken the liberty of going through his filmography to rank the best of his greatest performances. This list includes both movie roles and the rare TV appearance, including his work on \u201cThe Good Lord Bird\u201d and \u201cReservation Dogs.\u201d Read on for Ethan Hawke\u2019s 10 best performances, ranked.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cReality Bites\u201d (1994)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"REALITY
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Universal\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A defining text of mid-\u201990s Gen X disenchantment, \u201cReality Bites\u201d is not a particularly good movie: the characters are shrill and unlikable, the plot is preachy and basic, and Helen Childress\u2019 script has a smug, too-cool-for-school attitude that\u2019s aged horrendously after 30 years. Hawke doesn\u2019t necessarily escape the film\u2019s problems: his character, coffeehouse singer-songwriter Troy, is a thin stereotype of a hot \u201990s slacker, wildly unlikable despite the film wanting you to fall for him. That said, this is arguably the project that did the most to cement Hawke\u2019s star image, and there\u2019s undeniably appeal to his soulful, snarky performance, which shows real star quality that\u2019s downright nostalgic to see in a Hollywood production these days. His chemistry with Winona Ryder is almost enough to make their characters\u2019 romance work, even if the script keeps getting in the way.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBorn to Be Blue\u201d (2015)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"BORN
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9IFC Films\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

An underseen gem, \u201cBorn to Be Blue\u201d presents a semi-fictionalized look at the life of famed jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, focusing particularly on his recovery from a mugging incident in the \u201960s that lead to the destruction of his teeth and damaged his ability to play his beloved instrument. Hawke nearly played a younger version of Baker in a Richard Linklater film that never came to fruition; his performance in Robert Budreau\u2019s film is better for the experience and vulnerability he brings to the role with his age, despite his underlying boyish charm. Hawke learned to play the trumpet himself for the role, his inexperience with the instrument working with the context of Baker trying to recover from his accident, and nails a warbling, sensitive performance of the song \u201cI\u2019ve Never Been in Love Before.\u201d The film doesn\u2019t sugercoat any of Baker\u2019s faults, from his neediness to his general immaturity, but Hawke is raw and sensitive enough that you want to forgive him all the same.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cGattaca\u201d (1997)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"GATTACA,
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Columbia Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

One of Hawke\u2019s most well-remembered films from the \u201990s, thanks in part to becoming a lazy day in high school science class staple watch, \u201cGattaca\u201d is also an intelligent and thoughtful warning of the potential impact of eugenics, imagining a future where parents use genetic selection to conceive their children. For Hawke\u2019s Vincent Freeman, who was born without any genetic selection, that means a lifetime of discrimination, getting barred from high-paying work and his dreams of going to space being denied. But he gets a chance at a new life when he begins impersonating Jude Law\u2019s Jerome Morrow, a swim champion who was paralyzed in an accident. In an often chilly sci-fi film, the earthy Hawke is excellent casting: he\u2019s certainly attractive, but almost seems of an entirely different era than the unnaturally beautiful Law, with a wide-eyed sense of wonder that sells Vincent\u2019s very earnest dreams. Also, the set of the film is where Hawke met his former wife Uma Thurman, and the two share unsurprisingly great chemistry that gives the film\u2019s romance real charge. <\/p>\n

\t\u201cDead Poets Society\u201d (1989)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"DEAD
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Buena Vista Pictures\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Hawke was just 18 years old when he broke through as the sweet, sensitive Todd in \u201cDead Poets Society,\u201d Peter Weir\u2019s beloved coming-of-age drama about Robin Williams\u2019 John Keating, who inspires a group of dissatisfied boarding school boys to \u201cseize the day\u201d and pursue their passions. At his then-young age, the actor has much of the sensitivity that would make him a great performer later on his career, proving very believable as a shy, sheltered teen with low confidence who slowly emerges from his shell. Most importantly, he has excellent chemistry with Robert Sean Leonard as Todd\u2019s best friend Neil, developing a sweet friendship that makes the film\u2019s ultimate tragedy all the more painful. In an earnest, inspirational tearjerker, it\u2019s Hawke\u2019s performance that gives the story much of its emotional core.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cReservation Dogs\u201d (2023)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"RESERVATION
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9FX Networks\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cReservation Dogs\u201d is an incredible show for many reasons, with some of the best writing, direction, and acting of any series this decade. One of its greatest attributes, though, is its ability to expand beyond its central cast of four Native teens living on an Oklahoma reservation and flesh out the community around them, leading to a sprawling ensemble where every player has texture and humanity. For its penultimate episode, the show was even able to flex a bit by abandoning nearly the entire cast for a standalone story focusing on Elora (the phenomenal Devery Jacobs) as she locates the father she never met for financial information. Casting a movie star like Hawke in the role could feel like stunt casting, but it never feels like it watching \u201cElora\u2019s Dad\u201d; he sinks into the lowkey, bittersweet tone of the show immediately, never overplaying the emotions that come from this reluctant reconnection. He\u2019s excellent with Jacobs in particular, his regretful sweetness contrasting beautifully with her spiky disposition, and making for one of a great show\u2019s very best episodes. It\u2019s an excellent preview of what Hawke and series creator Sterlin Harjo could accomplish in their followup collaboration \u201cThe Lowdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHamlet\u201d (2000)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"HAMLET,
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Miramax\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Divisive at the time, and still today, Michael Almereyda\u2019s 2000 contemporary version of \u201cHamlet\u201d is nonetheless one of the most interesting Shakespeare films ever made, transforming the classical tragedy into a paranoia-drenched sort of techno thriller about the evolving technology of the time and the feeling of being constantly under surveillance. Hawke\u2019s performance was also a bit divisive, rendering the Prince of Denmark as a mopey-eyed film student and heir to a major corporation, with many critics preferring the rest of the ensemble (most notably Julia Stiles\u2019 devastating Ophelia or Kyle MacLachlan\u2019s scheming Claudius). But his performance, which emphasizes the more pathetic parts of the Prince\u2019s nature, works well in this film\u2019s feverish context, sucking out the grandiosity of the character in favor of something petulant and infantile. It\u2019s not what you think of when you think of Shakespearean acting, but in a way, it\u2019s more honest and insightful about the character than many other renditions you\u2019ve seen before. And when the film asks him to, Hawke delivers, with a sensitivity that makes Hamlet unmistakably human.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBoyhood\u201d (2014)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"BOYHOOD,
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9IFC Films\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Famously filmed over the course of 11 years with production starting and stopping to track the coming-of-age of its main character, Richard Linklater\u2019s \u201cBoyhood\u201d derives a lot of pleasure from seeing how its ensemble of actors evolves over the years. Nowhere is that more evident than with Ethan Hawke\u2019s performance as Mason\u2019s (Ellar Coltrane) irresponsible, reckless father, semi-estranged from his kids at first after his divorce from their mother. Hawke was 32 with two very young kids of his own when production began; by the time it ended in 2013, he was in his forties, and the experience of raising his own children (and going through his own divorce) clearly seeped into the extra level of tenderness and sweetness he brought to the role. In a poignant film about the passage of time, watching Hawke transform his character from a wash-up to someone Mason can be proud to call his father makes for the most satisfying, moving arc.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Good Lord Bird\u201d (2020)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"THE
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9Showtime Networks Inc.\/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Criminally underseen and underappreciated, \u201cThe Good Lord Bird\u201d features Hawke playing an undersung American hero, abolitionist John Brown, who raided federal armories in an attempt to begin a slave revolt. Told from the point of view of Onion (Joshua Caleb Johnson), a fictional enslaved boy who joins Brown\u2019s soldiers, the show follows Brown\u2019s life with plenty of reverence, which could slide into hero-worshipping. But Hawke nails a tricky, difficult part: his Brown is bombastic and theatrical, prone to launching into sermons and speeches at a moment\u2019s notice, but with real conviction and purpose behind everything he says, and the actor never winks to the audience or undercuts the real sincere humanity behind Brown\u2019s beliefs. It\u2019s an astonishingly ferocious portrait of revolutionary fire packed with adrenaline. <\/p>\n

\t\u201cBefore\u201d Trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: \u00a9 Columbia \/Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Nothing about the \u201cBefore\u201d trilogy of films, Richard Linklater\u2019s opus about an American man and a French woman who meet by chance on a train and their two-decade-ish love story, would work if the stars didn\u2019t have the type of lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry casting directors dream of. It took the director nine months to finalize casting for the characters of Jesse and C\u00e9line for \u201cBefore Sunrise,\u201d before he eventually got Hawke and Julie Delpy together for a final reading. In the film that resulted, the two have such a swoony, instant spark that you can understand exactly why they would fall for each other immediately, and both have a perfect handle on the bantering, erudite, circular dialogue that the movie is built upon. Over two sequels, the characters\u2019 relationship got to grow more complicated, and it\u2019s a joy to see the actors\u2019 grow with their characters. Hawke, deep in his dreamy Gen X heartthrob era in the first film, manages to keep the traits that make Jesse unique \u2014 his swagger, intelligence, playfulness \u2014 while also showing his evolution from immature young man to older, flawed husband. And when Hawke smashes the big blowout fight between Jesse and C\u00e9line that \u201cBefore Midnight\u201d builds up to out of the park, you get the sense that his younger self from the first film wouldn\u2019t have been capable of delivering it.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cFirst Reformed\u201d (2017)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"FIRST
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Everett Collection \/ Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Hawke, remarkably, was not Oscar-nominated for his performance in \u201cFirst Reformed,\u201d his finest work as an actor. Had Paul Schrader\u2019s morally murky psychological thriller received more critical attention, he very well could have (and probably should have) won. He\u2019s that great as Reverend Ernst Toller, the minister of a small historical church in Upstate New York whose worldview is shaken when he provides spiritual council to a radical environmentalist and his pregnant wife. With a deep set brow of worry and stiff body posture, Hawke ably conveys the image of a man haunted by his past actions and with deep convictions for how to repent. With Toller such an internal character, we chart most of his change not through words or actions, but through Hawke\u2019s face, how his eyes flash with shock, doubt, anger, and disgust. When Toller makes his final choice at the end of the film, it\u2019s thanks to Hawke\u2019s work that it\u2019s not shocking at all. Few actors have been capable of a performance as spiritually distraught as this. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Ethan Hawke\u2019s greatest attributes as an actor is that he makes things look easy. That\u2019s not…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[29324,146,28012,878,85,46,397,29325,29165,411],"class_list":["post-35312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-blue-moon","tag-entertainment","tag-ethan-hawke","tag-film","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-movies","tag-reservation-dogs","tag-the-lowdown","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}