Hawke, Ethan (1970– )

US actor and novelist. Known for his combination of intensity and classic handsomeness, he often played sensitive, soulful, angst-ridden leading men, for example in Ben Stiller's Generation X comedy Reality Bites (1994), Richard Linklater's romantic dramas Before Sunrise (1995) and its sequel Before Sunset (2004), and Great Expectations (1998). He has written two novels, The Hottest State (1997) and the bestselling Ash Wednesday (2002).

He first reached wide audiences with his role as a shy adolescent in the Peter Weir drama Dead Poets Society (1989). He received critical acclaim for the title role in a modern film adaptation of Hamlet (2000) and Academy Award nominations for his supporting role in the police drama Training Day (2001) and for co-writing the screenplay of Before Sunset.

Hawke was born in Austin, Texas. He studied acting at the McCarter Theater in Princeton, New Jersey, and made his film debut in the science fiction fantasy Explorers (1985) at the age of 14, opposite River Phoenix. He attended Carnegie Mellon University but left to appear in Dead Poets Society. Other films include the adventure adaptation White Fang (1991), the science fiction drama Gattaca (1997), the drama Snow Falling on Cedars (1999), the crime thrillers Taking Lives (2004) and Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), and the fast-food industry expose Fast Food Nation (2006). He was married to US actor Uma Thurman 1998–2005.