Ethan Hawke Quotes

In fact, I think my life is always going to be difficult, because I am trying to do something ... "original" is a big word. It's kind of pathetic, but I have to love what I'm doing. ~ Ethan Hawke

Every time he opens his mouth I have absolutely no idea what he's gonna say. He's the most honest person I've ever met. He's a quick study and rarely needs to make the same mistake twice. He really tries to learn, and does, and he makes me laugh, and the world's generally a lighter place when he's in my sight. ~ Ethan Hawke

It's interesting to get older and realize that part of your job growing up in this profession is to help the next generation. More and more, with Boyhood and with Ellar Coltrane and with Emma [Watson], I start to see that role. There's no better way. Nobody wants advice, so you can't really give it. You just have to try to wish them well on their journey. ~ Ethan Hawke

We all have this fantasy of finding our one true love who's going to be the perfect fit. It's just not a reality. ~ Ethan Hawke

Grace is the ability to accept change. Be open and supple; the brittle break. ~ Ethan Hawke

I really did Regression to work with Alejandro [Amenabar]. I found him very interesting. His movie, The Others, is one of the better scary movies of the last period of time. ~ Ethan Hawke

Depression is a real demon in the woods for a lot of creative people, you know? It's part of what the documentary is trying to be about for me, finding balance, where the beauty that is attainable in the creative arts can be matched with the scratchy roughness of regular life. ~ Ethan Hawke

If you don't give inspiration an opportunity, it will never arrive. ~ Ethan Hawke

If you can understand the inner life, then you can wear the uniform, the tattoos, or whatnot and realize that the things that are different about us become superficial. ~ Ethan Hawke

There's only so often you're going to have an opportunity to contribute at a high level and that you should be grateful whenever one presents itself and not take it lightly. ~ Ethan Hawke

I believe in the healing restorative power of art and communication. And so that's probably my rule. But that doesn't apply to bedtimes. And stuff like that. ~ Ethan Hawke

If someone asks me if I believe in God, I shake my head like I couldn't give a shit, but the truth is, I do. I just don't know what to do about it. ~ Ethan Hawke

We live in a funny time. If you don't go corporate, you can't compete. You're relegated as irrelevant. People used to admire that. ~ Ethan Hawke

You can't keep wanting to be 20 years old. Everybody knows that, but what's in the next room? ~ Ethan Hawke

When you do 'Before Sunset,' you know while it's a limited audience, there was a very small group of people that love 'Before Sunrise.' You feel a certain pressure to make sure that you uphold a level of quality that has been a bar. You set a bar and you have to at least match it. ~ Ethan Hawke

I think that if you walk through this life and I end up being a bad father, then it won't matter anything else I achieved in my life. It will all be irrelevant. ~ Ethan Hawke

One of the things that's really lousy about making movies is that you have such little interaction with your audience. ~ Ethan Hawke

My first car was kind of sad. My first car was when my parents had completely worn out their Toyota Corolla that they had for 16 years or something. They gave me, for my 19th birthday, this really ancient Toyota. So that was my first car. And I loved it. I thought it was amazing, and I drove it cross-country. It was not aesthetically appealing in any way. It was it fast. It did not handle well, but it lasted forever. I drove cross-country and back, and then I gave it to my sister, and she drove it for another 10 years. ~ Ethan Hawke

I feel like everyone I meet is an imaginary friend. I don't know. The older I get the more I wonder what's real. ~ Ethan Hawke

Everyone has to pay their child support, and no matter if you're a Hollywood actor or anyone else, it's always a little bit more than you want to pay. ~ Ethan Hawke

I've always watched actors on the red carpet getting drunk and making idiots of themselves and now I'm happy to join their ranks ~ Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke is not a horror movie fan, but he's a really good friend of mine, and I finally cajoled him into doing 'Sinister.' Later, he said one of the reasons he was really resistant to doing a horror movie is he thought it'd be really scary on set. ~ Jason Blum

If you covet fame, if you covet all the superficial accolades, you're gonna be miserable 'cause you're never going to get enough praise. If you covet contributing something substantive to movies, music, literature, then you won't be unhappy. ~ Ethan Hawke

Directing is like putting together a collage. ~ Ethan Hawke

All that stuff with the tabloids is a kind of luxury tax I pay for all the good things I do in my life. ~ Ethan Hawke

I like [that] there's a certain inherent drama to those jobs that is exciting to tell stories about and it's still real life. I'm a little less interested in the current fad of being obsessed with superheroes and things that are so out of the box. ~ Ethan Hawke

Everything is so finite but that's what makes our time and specific moments so important. ~ Ethan Hawke

The thing that makes a great genre movie is one that's not just entertainment, not just horror or sci-fi or whatever. The ones I love are the genre pictures with some subversive message underlying it all. ~ Ethan Hawke

Justice. There is only one thing for which a knight has no patience: injustice. Every true knight fights for human dignity at all times. ~ Ethan Hawke

There is no trick to writing a believable love story, a heartbreaking scene or real-sounding dialogue. All you need is to tell the truth. It's always heartbreaking. ~ Ethan Hawke

You are always in the right place at exactly the right time, and you always have been. ~ Ethan Hawke

I met a lot of famous people when I was about 24. And none of them seemed very appealing. And so I didn't know why I would struggle to be that kind of person. ~ Ethan Hawke

Habit, routine, and too much consistency numb our minds and pave the road for us to sleepwalk through our lives. Nothing stays the same. Everything passes, and everything changes. However, do not move too much. As an apple tree cannot bear fruit if it is too often transplanted, neither will a knight who is always building a new castle. ~ Ethan Hawke

I've had several moments in my career where it seemed like I might not age out of the bracket the world wants to put you in. It's hard to keep growing up inside the performing arts. It's very difficult, and presents a lot of unique challenges. ~ Ethan Hawke

My process differs ... my process for a Richard Linklater film is very different than a process for Training Day. ~ Ethan Hawke

It's interesting to work with Emma [Watson] so quickly after Harry Potter. When we shot this movie, it wasn't that long after Harry Potter was finished, and it's knowing that's a big transition in her life. She's a very talented young woman. ~ Ethan Hawke

The thing that really breeds career longevity in this profession is doing good work. You can make $20 million a movie, but does that mean you'll still have a job when you're 60? It's a profession that eats people up and wants constant turnaround, so you have to dedicate yourself to learning and making the most of whatever gift you may have. ~ Ethan Hawke

How to make a scary movie human, take a movie like Sinister. How can I make that guy so real so that the scary elements of it are more scary and it functions as a genre movie - as the way it's supposed to, you want to hear a ghost story at midnight, that's a good one - but how do you fill it up with humanity inside, in staying true to the genre? You know? Does that make sense? ~ Ethan Hawke

I don't know what has happened to movies, but lately every movie is at least 20 minutes too long. It used to be that if you were three hours long it was because it was epic - a movie about Gandhi; something with very important subject matters. ~ Ethan Hawke

Alejandro Amenabar is a different kind of director than I lot of the directors I've asked for. He really asks you to enter his dream as opposed to, you know, a guy like Sidney Lumet or something is going to ask you to create a character almost like a documentary. He wants you to make the people really real and he's going to capture it like a documentarian. ~ Ethan Hawke

It's difficult to make any kind of action movie that might be unique or worth watching. ~ Ethan Hawke

I meet a lot of young people that want to go into acting because they think of what it will do for them. If that's the case, it can be a very, very painful profession. But if the kids want to do acting because they love it, and they want to give to it, then they can have a great life. It's really about as simple as how you look at it. ~ Ethan Hawke

I always felt that a marriage works best at a farm ... where you're together and everybody has clear-cut roles; they have chores, 'you take care of this' and you know. But it's hard. ~ Ethan Hawke

Nothing teaches you like getting leveled. And I got leveled in my early 30s. Nothing went exactly the way I thought it would. ~ Ethan Hawke

If you study the history of mankind, it seems to be a history of violence. Certainly the history of art, whether you look at paintings or movies or plays or whatever, is just a litany of murder and death. ~ Ethan Hawke

I don't really know [who my favorite vampire is]. I always think, 'Ethan Hawke in Interview with a Vampire,' and someone will say, 'He's not the vampire. He's the interviewer.' ~ Robert Pattinson

You don't need other people to affirm that you're a valuable person. ~ Ethan Hawke

In your mid-twenties, the paint is still wet on who you are. ~ Ethan Hawke

One of the things I can do is to try to put myself in different kinds of movies and that kind of subtly changes my work. By the time my obituary is written, I want there to be a great western and a great comedy. ~ Ethan Hawke

Then there are actors my age like Ethan Hawke, he's in 'Moby Dick,' I love his work. I've been lucky. Alfred Molina, he has real class. ~ Billy Boyd

Success isn't measured by what you achieve, it's measured by the obstacles you overcome. ~ Ethan Hawke

I remember being a kid and sleeping over at my friend's house and staying up late and watching 'Nosferatu.' Vampire movies are supposed to be secret and bad. They should be rated R. ~ Ethan Hawke

Arrogance is born of insecurity. Pride is different. It is born of dignity, self-worth, and self-respect. We all see the world through the prism of our identity. If our self-worth is low, it affects everything we do. The point of life is to contribute to others, but without a certain self-regard, it is sometimes difficult to make breakfast. ~ Ethan Hawke

It's certainly an interesting moment to try to talk about, 'cause you could make a great show about the police force right now, with all that's happening in the news and Ferguson and all of it. ~ Ethan Hawke

The drones are really interesting - how have the troops withdrawn from Afghanistan? Because we've upped the drone strikes and most of the country doesn't even really know what that means or who we're killing or ... it's such a new weapon that we don't know what the long term impacts of that kind of military action is going to be. ~ Ethan Hawke

Right now the only people I can really fall in love with are people who don't really, truly want me around. Now why do I do that? ~ Ethan Hawke

The only thing I can point to of why I survived is I have a family that loves me and never wanted any money from me. ~ Ethan Hawke

When you start becoming really successful, the demons start to tempt you - the demons of vanity and self importance, drug abuse, the feelings of fraudulence. But, it's also a thrill. That's what I found weird. ~ Ethan Hawke

Some people burn out, and some people like Clint Eastwood, he was a wild, international movie star in his 30s, and he's doing the best work of his life now. Go figure. ~ Ethan Hawke

It is quite rare to find people who are really dedicated to a level of excellence. Most of us are really quite lazy most of the time. ~ Ethan Hawke

Speech. Do not speak ill of others. A knight does not spread news that he does not know to be certain, or condemn things that he does not understand. ~ Ethan Hawke

I've turned down good directors before because I knew the part didn't speak to me and I've worked with less talented directors before because the part I had such passion for. ~ Ethan Hawke

The girls who like me aren't the ones I like. Or, if I do and they want to commit, I suddenly need tons of time with my friends. ~ Ethan Hawke

Stand like you deserve to be here ~ Ethan Hawke

Like a dead branch falling from a tree, which them decomposes and nourishes the soil, your disappointments can transform into the elements of change and growth. ~ Ethan Hawke

The more kind of head trippy sci-fi. I always like that. I was a big 'Twilight Zone' freak. ~ Ethan Hawke

It's always a unique challenge when you're working with somebody where English is their second language. ~ Ethan Hawke

I'm always trying to look for how I can find human stories that aren't just dramas. ~ Ethan Hawke

I auditioned for Robert Redford once and I was so starstruck I couldn't even speak. I had a mic wire at a screen test clipped to me and then I got kind of nervous and I paced in a circle and then took a step and tripped and fell on my face. You just have to forgive yourself and keep going on. ~ Ethan Hawke

The theater, for me, has always been a place where I'm free to be more creative, a place to sharpen my tools. ~ Ethan Hawke

In America, celebrities who go to see your show will come backstage and introduce themselves. Meeting Annette Bening and Ethan Hawke that way was amazing, but when Tom Hanks came, it was really special - I've loved him since I first saw him in 'Big!' ~ Tom Riley

Pay attention: what you need to know is usually in front of you. There are no secrets, just things people choose not to notice. ~ Ethan Hawke

We all see the world through the prism of our identity. ~ Ethan Hawke

My job - and it's really true - is that it's constantly evolving and changing. When I was doing the Chet Baker movie I was obsessed with playing the trumpet, and to my absolute shock I haven't picked the trumpet up since we wrapped. It was so much work. I thought I was going to keep playing the rest of my life, 'cause it was fun, it's just a lot of work. And it's a really unique job that exposes you to a lot. ~ Ethan Hawke

If you can channel the best part of you that is bigger than yourself, where it's not about your ego and not about getting ahead, then you can have fun and you aren't jealous of others. You see other people's talent as another branch of your own. You can keep it rooted in joy. Life is long and there are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. The point of it all is to learn. ~ Ethan Hawke

With practice, you build the road to accomplish your goals. Excellence lives in attention to detail. Give your all, all the time. Don't save anything for the walk home. ~ Ethan Hawke

Often we imagine that we will work hard until we arrive at some distant goal, and then we will be happy. This is a delusion. Happiness is the result of a life lived with purpose. Happiness is not an objective. It is the movement of life itself, a process, and an activity. It arises from curiosity and discovery. Seek pleasure and you will quickly discover the shortest path to suffering. Other people, friends, brothers, sisters, neighbors, spouses, even your mother and I are not responsible for your happiness. Your life is your responsibility, and you always have the choice to do your best. Doing your best will bring happiness. Do not be overconcerned with avoiding pain or seeking pleasure. If you are concentrating on the results of your actions, you are not dedicated to your task. ~ Ethan Hawke

It was never in my dreams to make my personal life anybody else's business. ~ Ethan Hawke

Everyone is saying, "How is it with Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez?" and I say, "You're forgetting the third star." And they're like, "The car?" It's totally a star. ~ Courtney Solomon

I've had a lot of experience in independent film, and about how to choose. You've got to be very discerning about where you put your five bucks, and where you cut and what you don't cut. ~ Ethan Hawke

I don't think Emma Watson needs any advice. She's an incredibly smart young woman who knows what she wants out of life and she has some great parents. ~ Ethan Hawke

I thought I was so much smarter than everybody. And I'm not. ~ Ethan Hawke

Read. It makes you more intelligent. It's that simple. We all see the universe through the tiny keyhole of our own eyes, and every book is another keyhole from which you can gaze. ~ Ethan Hawke

One of the hardest things about my job is that there kind of is no one rulebook that applies to all situations. ~ Ethan Hawke

Nightmares are a strange thing. Your worst fear is sometimes something you enjoy thinking about, for some strange reason. I don't know why that is, but it's some kind of fantasy that people play out. "What would I do to protect my children? I'd do anything." And then, you watch it play out. I'm petrified of such a thing. ~ Ethan Hawke

Have this Chet Baker movie coming out and in that situation, I went down the rabbit hole studying Chet Baker and being obsessed with the period and the music and the relationships and the dynamic, and everything, drug addiction. There was so much I wanted to get at to kind of get at the truth. With Regression, I was certainly in Alejandro's [Amenabar] hands. ~ Ethan Hawke

I've always been drawn to the best writing that I can find. I don't care if it's in movies or theater or whatever - if you want to be in front of an audience, you have to do writing you believe in. ~ Ethan Hawke

The constant buzz and pressure and noise and static of the Internet, and the way it makes young people feel makes it difficult to grow up and develop the way one might want to. ~ Ethan Hawke

In all of our society, but especially in Hollywood, there is an obsession with perfection that can lead to self-loathing and neurosis and all that kind of stuff. ~ Ethan Hawke

Those who cannot easily forgive will not collect many friends. Look for the best in others and yourself. ~ Ethan Hawke

As for futuristic costumes, I loved doing 'Gattaca' because I'm a minimalist at heart, and it's a very minimal film. Plus, with Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, how could you go wrong? ~ Colleen Atwood

When an analogy is really singing, it's what you want it to be. ~ Ethan Hawke

Possessions can be, and most often are, a distraction from the real work of a knight's life. A lion doesn't own anything at all, yet we all know his power. ~ Ethan Hawke

If you're not a real chameleon of an actor and if you're not one of those guys who can really shape-change themselves all the time, one of the ways to keep pushing yourself and keep changing is to be in different kinds of movies. ~ Ethan Hawke

Remember, a friend does not need you to impress him. A friend loves you because you are true to yourself, not because you agree with him. Beware of grand gestures; the real mettle of friendship is forged in life's daily workings. ~ Ethan Hawke

I'm magically delicious. ~ Ethan Hawke

Years ago I was going to play Chet Baker in another movie and I really felt drawn to that character and the script is good and I met with Robert and we seemed simpatico and we developed. But I had a real passion for that role and that brought me deep into that film 'cause I got the sense that Robert [Budreau] was going to really let me be creative inside this part. ~ Ethan Hawke

You know, I auditioned for 'Titanic.' Sometimes I muse on what would have happened. That would have been such a different life. ~ Ethan Hawke

Well, there's a great Marlon Brando quote that to do something well you have to spiritually marry your director. You have to be making the same movie they are in that you have to try to help their imagination be better, and more full, and more fully realized, but you can't have a different imagination because then you end up - and you see this a lot in movies - where it feels like they were making five different films. ~ Ethan Hawke

Love. Love is the end goal. It is the music of our lives. There is no obstacle that enought love cannot move. ~ Ethan Hawke