# List of Ethan Hawke performances
The performances of **Ethan Hawke** (born 1970 in [Austin, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-texas)) span feature films, television, and stage work across a career that began with the science-fiction film *Explorers* in 1985 and now runs more than four decades.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000160/?showAllCredits=true) His IMDb credits list 110 acting roles, 11 directing jobs, 13 producing credits, and 9 writing credits, alongside stage, voice, and documentary work.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000160/?showAllCredits=true)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Screen debut | *Explorers* (1985), made while he was still a teenager[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) |
| Breakout role | Todd Anderson in *Dead Poets Society* (1989)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) |
| Academy Award nominations | Four acting and screenwriting nominations through 2018 (*Training Day*, *Boyhood*, and two co-screenwriting nominations for *Before Sunset* and *Before Midnight*); a lead-actor nomination for *Blue Moon* (2025) made him a five-time nominee[3](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke) • [4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-weight-review-sundance-thriller-proves-theres-nothing-ethan-hawke-cant-do/) |
| Linklater collaborations | *Before Sunrise* (1995), *Waking Life* (2001), *Before Sunset* (2004), *Before Midnight* (2013), *Boyhood* (2014), and *Blue Moon* (2025), his ninth film with the director[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) • [5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/) |
| Signature television roles | John Brown in *The Good Lord Bird* (2020), Arthur Harrow in *Moon Knight* (2022), Lee Raybon in *The Lowdown* (2025)[5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/) |
| Stage work | Co-founder of the Malaparte Theater Company (1993); five Broadway appearances including *The Coast of Utopia* (Tony nomination) and the 2018–19 revival of *True West*[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) • [7](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/ethan-hawke/profile/) |
| Directing | *Chelsea Walls* (2001), *Seymour: An Introduction* (2014), *Blaze* (2018), *Wildcat* (2023), and the documentary series *The Last Movie Stars* (2022)[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) • [8](https://www.ethanhawke.net/about-2) |
## 1980s and 1990s film roles
Hawke's early screen career moved quickly from adolescent science fiction to prestige drama. After *Explorers* (1985), he appeared in *Dad* and *Dead Poets Society* (both 1989), then in *White Fang* (1991), *A Midnight Clear* and *Waterland* (1992), *Rich in Love* and *Alive* (1993), and *Reality Bites* (1994), the [Generation X](https://www.edgepedia.org/generation-x) ensemble comedy in which he played Troy Dyer.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) • [9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/ethan-hawke-moon-knight-b2043838.html) His first collaboration with [Richard Linklater](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-linklater), Before Sunrise (1995), cast him opposite [Julie Delpy](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-delpy) as Jesse Wallace, a role he would revisit twice.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan)
The late 1990s mixed studio pictures with independent work: *Gattaca* (1997), where he met his first wife, [Uma Thurman](https://www.edgepedia.org/uma-thurman); *Great Expectations*, *The Newton Boys*, and *The Velocity of Gary* (1998); *Snow Falling on Cedars* and *Joe the King* (1999); and *Hamlet* (2000), in which he played the title role.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) • [5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/)
## 2000s: Training Day and independent film
**Training Day** (2001), [Antoine Fuqua](https://www.edgepedia.org/antoine-fuqua)'s crime drama with [Denzel Washington](https://www.edgepedia.org/denzel-washington), brought Hawke his first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, and a [Screen Actors Guild](https://www.edgepedia.org/screen-actors-guild) nomination.[3](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke) The same year he worked with Linklater twice, voicing a character in the animated *Waking Life* and starring in the single-room drama *Tape* with Robert Sean Leonard and Uma Thurman.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) • [10](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/5f5a3e16-04ce-55ab-9942-bbc621de9993/tape)
Through the decade his filmography leaned toward independent projects, with occasional studio forays such as *Taking Lives* (2004), *Assault on Precinct 13* (2005), and *Lord of War* (2005).[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) • [11](https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ethan-hawke-movies/) *Before Sunset* (2004) earned him a second Oscar nomination, this time for co-writing the screenplay with Julie Delpy and Linklater.[12](https://www.biography.com/actors/ethan-hawke) Sidney Lumet's *Before the Devil Knows You're Dead* (2007), in which he played opposite [Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/philip-seymour-hoffman), became one of his most-cited performances of the period.[5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/) • [3](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke)
## 2010s: the Linklater run and First Reformed
The 2010s contained the densest stretch of his screen work. *Before Midnight* (2013) completed the romance trilogy and brought a third Oscar nomination, again for adapted screenplay.[12](https://www.biography.com/actors/ethan-hawke) *Boyhood* (2014), filmed with the same cast in short annual sessions over 12 years, earned Academy Award, Golden Globe, SAG, and BAFTA nominations for his supporting performance as the children's father, Mason.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) • [3](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke) Genre work ran alongside it: *Sinister* (2012), *The Purge* (2013), in which he played security salesman James Sandin, and *Predestination* (2014).[13](https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/73072/1/Bettinson_Ethan_Hawke_interview.pdf) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke)
**First Reformed** (2018), [Paul Schrader](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-schrader)'s drama about a rural pastor, is the performance most often singled out from this period. Hawke won Best Actor prizes from the [Independent Spirit Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/independent-spirit-awards), the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the Gotham Awards for the role.[3](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke) Other well-received 2010s roles include [Chet Baker](https://www.edgepedia.org/chet-baker) in *Born to Be Blue* (2015), for which he did his own singing, *Maudie* (2016), *The Magnificent Seven* (2016), *Juliet, Naked* (2018), and *Stockholm* (2018).[5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/) • [14](https://time.com/4263607/review-born-to-be-blue-i-saw-the-light-miles-ahead/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke)
## 2020s: television and Blue Moon
Hawke's television work expanded in the 2020s. He played the abolitionist John Brown in the Showtime limited series *The Good Lord Bird* (2020), a performance that brought a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Limited Series, and the villain Arthur Harrow in Marvel's *Moon Knight* (2022) opposite [Oscar Isaac](https://www.edgepedia.org/oscar-isaac).[5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/) In 2025 he starred as Tulsa bookstore owner and self-described "truthstorian" Lee Raybon in Sterlin Harjo's FX neo-noir comedy *The Lowdown*, renewed for a second season with [Tommy Lee Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-lee-jones) and [Betty Gilpin](https://www.edgepedia.org/betty-gilpin) joining the cast.[15](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/ethan-hawkes-the-lowdown-is-2025s-best-new-tv-series/) • [16](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-lowdown-tvs-best-series-starring-ethan-hawke-gets-even-better-in-season-2) • [21](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/liberty-bound)
**Blue Moon** (2025) marked a career peak. In his ninth film with Linklater, Hawke plays Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart over a single night at Sardi's restaurant in 1943, waiting for his former partner Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) to arrive.[5](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/) • [17](https://apnews.com/article/9704fa8ed98e57cc9de110a0df17371d) The role brought an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, his first in the lead category and his fifth nomination overall.[4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-weight-review-sundance-thriller-proves-theres-nothing-ethan-hawke-cant-do/) • [18](https://site1.midtcweb.com/ecore/timesleader/TIM012626final.pdf) He also returned as the Grabber in *Black Phone 2* (2025), appeared in *She Dances* (2025), and led the Depression-era thriller *The Weight* (2026), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) • [4](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-weight-review-sundance-thriller-proves-theres-nothing-ethan-hawke-cant-do/)
## Stage performances
Hawke's stage career runs parallel to his screen work. He made his off-Broadway debut in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of *Casanova* (1991), followed by *The Seagull* (1992), *Sophistry* (1993), *The Late Henry Moss* (2001), and *Hurlyburly* (2005), for which he received Lucille Lortel and Drama League nominations.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) • [7](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/ethan-hawke/profile/) In 1993 he co-founded Malaparte, a not-for-profit theater company in New York, and served as its artistic director.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan)
On Broadway he has appeared five times, including Tom Stoppard's *The Coast of Utopia* (Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play), *Henry IV*, the title role in *Macbeth* (2013), and the Bridge Project stagings of *The Cherry Orchard* and *The Winter's Tale*; *Blood From a Stone* earned him a 2011 Obie Award for Performance.[7](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/ethan-hawke/profile/) • [3](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke) He returned to Broadway as Lee in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of Sam Shepard's *True West*, running from December 27, 2018 to March 17, 2019, and received a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Performance.[19](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ethan-hawke) • [8](https://www.ethanhawke.net/about-2)
## Directing and voice work
Behind the camera, Hawke first wrote, directed, and edited the short film *Straight to One* (1993) and directed Lisa Loeb's music video "Stay" (1994), before his feature debut *Chelsea Walls* (2001).[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan) His later directing credits include the documentary *Seymour: An Introduction* (2014) about the pianist Seymour Bernstein, the country-music biopic *Blaze* (2018), the Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward documentary series *The Last Movie Stars* (2022), and *Wildcat* (2023), which he also co-wrote.[20](https://time.com/3741859/10-questions-with-ethan-hawke/) • [8](https://www.ethanhawke.net/about-2) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke) Voice roles include the animated *Waking Life* (2001), Batman in *Batwheels: Secret Origin of the Batwheels* (2022), and Sgt. Bill Miller in *The Guilty* (2021).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke)
## References
1. [Ethan Hawke filmography and profile, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/ethan_hawke)
2. [Ethan Hawke credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000160/?showAllCredits=true)
3. [Ethan Hawke speaker biography, TED](https://www.ted.com/speakers/ethan_hawke)
4. [The Weight review, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-weight-review-sundance-thriller-proves-theres-nothing-ethan-hawke-cant-do/)
5. [Ethan Hawke profile, Golden Globes](https://goldenglobes.com/person/ethan-hawke/)
6. [Hawke, Ethan, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/culture-magazines/hawke-ethan)
7. [Ethan Hawke biography, Broadway.com](https://www.broadway.com/buzz/stars/ethan-hawke/profile/)
8. [About Ethan Hawke, ethanhawke.net](https://www.ethanhawke.net/about-2)
9. [Ethan Hawke interview, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/ethan-hawke-moon-knight-b2043838.html)
10. [Tape (2001), BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/5f5a3e16-04ce-55ab-9942-bbc621de9993/tape)
11. [Ethan Hawke movies, StudioBinder](https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ethan-hawke-movies/)
12. [Ethan Hawke biography, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/ethan-hawke)
13. [Screen Acting and the New Hollywood: An Interview with Ethan Hawke, Lancaster University](https://eprints.lancs.ac.uk/id/eprint/73072/1/Bettinson_Ethan_Hawke_interview.pdf)
14. [Review: Born to Be Blue, Time](https://time.com/4263607/review-born-to-be-blue-i-saw-the-light-miles-ahead/)
15. [The Lowdown review, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/ethan-hawkes-the-lowdown-is-2025s-best-new-tv-series/)
16. [TV's Best Series Gets Better in Exhilarating Second Season, The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/the-lowdown-tvs-best-series-starring-ethan-hawke-gets-even-better-in-season-2)
17. [In 'Blue Moon,' Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke's portrait of an artist, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/9704fa8ed98e57cc9de110a0df17371d)
18. [Times Leader entertainment section, January 26, 2026](https://site1.midtcweb.com/ecore/timesleader/TIM012626final.pdf)
19. [Ethan Hawke on stage, New York Theatre Guide](https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/stars-on-stage/ethan-hawke)
20. [10 Questions With Ethan Hawke, Time](https://time.com/3741859/10-questions-with-ethan-hawke/)
21. [Liberty Bound](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/liberty-bound)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Actor filmographies and performer list articles › Surnames M to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license