American actor, film director and author Ethan Hawke made his debut in 1985 with the science fantasy film Explorers (1985). He then had his breakthrough performance in the 1989 drama film Dead Poets Society opposite Robin Williams. He starred in the 1990s films White Fang (1991) and its sequel (1994); Reality Bites with Winona Ryder (1994), Gattaca with Uma Thurman (1997), and Great Expectations with Gwyneth Paltrow (1998). He co-starred alongside Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy: Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004), and Before Midnight (2013). He and Delpy also co-wrote the screenplay with Linklater for the last two films.

During the 2000s, Hawke starred in numerous blockbuster films including Training Day opposite Denzel Washington (2001), Taking Lives with Angelina Jolie (2004), Lord of War with Nicolas Cage (2005), Before the Devil Knows You're Dead with Philip Seymour Hoffman (2007), and Brooklyn's Finest with Richard Gere (2009). He co-starred, wrote and directed the 2006 film The Hottest State, based on his 1996 novel of the same name. In 2012, Hawke starred in the supernatural horror film Sinister (2012) and the next year he starred in The Purge with Lena Headey, the first installment in The Purge franchise. He teamed up again with Linklater for the film Boyhood, which was released in 2014 but production began in 2002 and finished in 2013, with Linklater's goal to make a film about growing up. Hawke played Mason Evans Sr., the father to the main character. The following years, Hawke co-starred in the films Maggie's Plan (2015), Born to Be Blue (2015), The Magnificent Seven (2016), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), First Reformed (2017), Juliet, Naked (2018), The Black Phone (2021) and The Northman (2022).

Hawke created, co-wrote and starred as John Brown in the Showtime limited series The Good Lord Bird (2018), and directed the HBO Max documentary series The Last Movie Stars (2022). He starred in the Marvel television miniseries Moon Knight (2022) as Arthur Harrow.

In addition to his film work, Hawke has appeared in many theater productions, making his Broadway debut in 1992 in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2007 for his performance in Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia. In 2010, Hawke directed Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind, for which he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Play. In 2018, he starred in the Roundabout Theater Company's revival of Sam Shepard's play True West alongside Paul Dano.

Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Explorers Ben Crandall 1988 Lion's Den Chris Short film 1989 Dead Poets Society Todd Anderson Dad Billy Tremont 1991 White Fang Jack Conroy Mystery Date Tom McHugh 1992 Waterland Mathew Price A Midnight Clear Will Knott 1993 Rich in Love Wayne Frobiness Alive Nando Parrado 1994 Straight to One Short film; writer, director and producer only Quiz Show Don Quixote student Uncredited cameo Reality Bites Troy Dyer Floundering Jimmy White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf Jack Conroy Uncredited cameo 1995 Before Sunrise Jesse Wallace Search and Destroy Roger 1997 Gattaca Vincent Freeman 1998 Great Expectations Finnegan 'Finn' Bell The Newton Boys Jess Newton 1999 The Velocity of Gary Nat Joe the King Len Coles Snow Falling on Cedars Ishmael Chambers 2000 Hamlet Hamlet 2001 Waking Life Jesse Wallace Tape Vince Training Day Officer Jake Hoyt Chelsea Walls Sam (voice) Uncredited; also director 2002 The Jimmy Show Ray 2004 Taking Lives Martin Asher / James Costa Before Sunset Jesse Wallace Also writer 2005 Assault on Precinct 13 Sergeant Jake Roenick Lord of War ATF Agent Jack Valentine One Last Thing... Earl Jameison Uncredited cameo 2006 The Hottest State Vince Also writer and director Fast Food Nation Pete 2007 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Hank Hanson 2008 What Doesn't Kill You Paulie McDougan Chelsea on the Rocks Himself Documentary New York, I Love You Writer 2009 Brooklyn's Finest Detective Sal Procida Staten Island 'Sully' Halverson Corso: The Last Beat Narrator / Himself Documentary Daybreakers Edward Dalton 2011 The Woman in the Fifth Tom Ricks 2012 Total Recall Carl Hauser Director's cut only Sinister Ellison Oswalt Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God Pat (voice) Documentary 2013 Before Midnight Jesse Wallace Also writer The Purge James Sandin Getaway Brent Magna 2014 Boyhood Mason Evans Sr. Predestination Agent Doe Cymbeline Iachimo Good Kill Major Tommy Egan Seymour: An Introduction Himself Documentary; also director 2015 Ten Thousand Saints Les Keffy Maggie's Plan John Harding Born to Be Blue Chet Baker Regression Bruce Kenner 2016 In a Valley of Violence Paul The Phenom Hopper Gibson Sr. Invasion! Cosmos (voice) Short film Maudie Everett Lewis The Magnificent Seven 'Goodnight' Robicheaux 2017 Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 'Jolly' The Pimp First Reformed Reverend Ernst Toller 24 Hours to Live Travis Conrad Dying of the Light Narrator Uncredited 2018 Juliet, Naked Tucker Crowe Blaze Radio DJ Cameo; also writer, director and producer Stockholm Kaj Hansson / Lars Nystrom 2019 The Kid Pat Garrett Adopt a Highway Russell Millings Also producer The Truth Hank 2020 Tesla Nikola Tesla Cut Throat City Jackson Symms 2021 Zeros and Ones JJ The Guilty Sergeant Bill Miller (voice) The Black Phone The Grabber 2022 The Northman King Aurvandill Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Efficient Man Cameo Raymond & Ray Ray 2023 Strange Way of Life Jake Short film Wildcat Writer, director and producer only Leave the World Behind Clay Sandford 2025 Blue Moon Lorenz Hart She Dances Brian Highway 99: A Double Album Documentary; director and producer only Black Phone 2 The Grabber 2026 The Weight Samuel Murphy I, Object Little Ben

Television Year Title Role Notes 2003 Alias CIA Agent James L. Lennox Episode: "Double Agent" 2007 Robot Chicken Godzilla Junior / Jason (voice) Episode: "Squaw Bury Shortcake" 2011 Moby Dick Starbuck Miniseries 2019 The Purge James Sandin Episode: "7:01am" 2020 The Good Lord Bird John Brown Lead role; also creator, writer and executive producer 2022 Moon Knight Arthur Harrow Main role The Last Movie Stars Himself Documentary series; also director 2022–present Batwheels Batman (voice) Main role 2023 Reservation Dogs Rick Miller Episode: "Elora's Dad" 2025–present The Lowdown Lee Raybon Main role; also executive producer 2025 Vietnam: The War That Changed America Narrator (voice)Documentary series The American Revolution General Anthony Wayne (voice)

Theater Year Title Role Venue Notes 1991 Casanova Young Giacomo Casanova The Public Theater 1992–1993 The Seagull Konstantin Treplev Lyceum Theatre 1993 Sophistry Xavier 'Ex' Reynolds Playwrights Horizons 1999 Camino Real Kilroy Williamstown Theatre Festival 2001 The Late Henry Moss Ray Moss Peter Norton Space 2003–2004 Henry IV Henry Percy Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway 2005 Hurlyburly Eddie Acorn Theatre 2006–2007 The Coast of Utopia Mikhail Bakunin Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway 2007 Things We Want Acorn Theatre Director only 2009 The Cherry Orchard Peter Trofimov BAM Harvey Theater The Winter's Tale Autolycus The Old Vic / International tour 2010 A Lie of the Mind Acorn Theatre Director only 2011 Blood From a Stone Travis Acorn Theatre 2012 Ivanov Nikolai Ivanov Classic Stage Company 2013 Clive Clive Acorn Theatre Also director 2013–2014 Macbeth Macbeth Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway 2019 True West Lee American Airlines Theatre, Broadway

Music videos Year Title Artist 2024 "Fortnight" Taylor Swift ft. Post Malone

See also List of awards and nominations received by Ethan Hawke

References

External links