Ethan Hawke

<p>Born in Austin, Texas, on November 6, 1970, Ethan Green Hawke grew up in New York and New Jersey. He studied acting at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton and made his feature film debut alongside River Phoenix in <em>Explorers</em> (1985). At age eighteen, Hawke achieved international stardom with his poignant portrayal of the shy student Todd Anderson opposite Robin Williams in Peter Weir's critically celebrated drama <em>Dead Poets Society</em> (1989), culminating in the iconic "O Captain! My Captain!" standing ovation scene.</p><p>Throughout the 1990s, Hawke emerged as the definitive intellectual voice of Generation X, starring in Ben Stiller's <em>Reality Bites</em> (1994) and Andrew Niccol's dystopian sci-fi classic <em>Gattaca</em> (1997). In 1995, he began an extraordinary eighteen-year creative collaboration with director Richard Linklater and French actress Julie Delpy in <em>Before Sunrise</em>, followed by <em>Before Sunset</em> (2004) and <em>Before Midnight</em> (2013). Hawke co-wrote the latter two installments, earning two Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay.</p><p>Hawke received two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor—first as rookie cop Jake Hoyt in Antoine Fuqua's crime thriller <em>Training Day</em> (2001) alongside Denzel Washington, and later for Richard Linklater's groundbreaking twelve-year cinematic experiment <em>Boyhood</em> (2014). An accomplished novelist (author of <em>The Hottest State</em> and <em>Rules for a Knight</em>), theatrical director, and Broadway Shakespearean actor, Hawke remains one of modern American cinema's most articulate advocates for artistic truth, intellectual curiosity, and creative courage.</p>