Ethan Hawke, during his appearance at the 2025 Gotham Awards on December 1st, was asked to name an actor who would portray him in a hypothetical biopic. With a hint of humor and deep family ties, he replied, "My son."
The actor, who shares sons Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke and Clementine Jean Hawke with his ex-wife Uma Thurman, as well as Indiana Hawke with wife Ryan Shawhughes, has a particular bond with Levon. The 17-year-old Levon has already embarked on his acting journey, starting with 2023's The Crowded Room and continuing with 2024's Wildcat, directed by his father and featuring his sister Maya in the lead role. He also appeared in Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut, Blink Twice, and in the action-thriller The Thicket, with his latest credit being Marty Supreme alongside Timothée Chalamet.
Hawke's reflections on the impact of fame on young actors during his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience were both profound and poignant. "I think celebrity is like a tiny drop of mercury. Or it's poison. It's poison for your brain," he said. Reflecting on his own early experiences, Hawke noted that landing his first role at the age of 14 was a double-edged sword. While it offered a glimpse into the world of acting, the movie's failure to perform led him to return to his studies. Later, he dropped out of college to pursue a role in Dead Poets Society alongside Robin Williams. "To be a professional actor at a young age is dangerous in extremely insidious ways that are very hard to perceive when it's happening," he said. "If you have something really traumatic happen in childhood, it's very hard to recover. It's a tremendous amount of work to recover."
