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- Ethan Hawke had a huge year in 2022. He starred in a Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series as the villain Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight; he appeared in one of the year's more critically acclaimed historical epics in The Northman; he then jumped back into his relationship with Blumhouse with the horror movie The Black Phone. Add in a cameo in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and an Apple TV original with Raymond & Ray, and it seems that fans got all they could hope for from the award-winning actor, and it was all well received.
Ethan Hawke may be best known for his frequent collaborations with director Richard Linklater and his presence on the indie film scene, but he's no stranger to mainstream Hollywood cinema. The past year has seen him embrace his villain side in both the MCU and the horror genre, showing the actor's impressive character range.
With nearly 100 big and small screen credits amassed since his making his screen debut at 14, Hawke has worked with some of the finest actors and directors in Hollywood, with Letterboxd particularly favoring his collaborations with Linklater.
UPDATE: 2023/1/9 BY SHAWN S. LEALOS
Ethan Hawke had a huge year in 2022. He starred in a Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series as the villain Arthur Harrow in Moon Knight; he appeared in one of the year's more critically acclaimed historical epics in The Northman; he then jumped back into his relationship with Blumhouse with the horror movie The Black Phone. Add in a cameo in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and an Apple TV original with Raymond & Ray, and it seems that fans got all they could hope for from the award-winning actor, and it was all well received.
13 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) - 3.6
Stream now on Hulu
Prolific Hollywood icon, the legendary Sidney Lumet finished his astonishing career directing the crime thriller Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman star as brothers who decide to rob their father's jewelry store when they find themselves in need of money. However, when their father starts to hunt them down, not knowing his own sons are the thieves, things get dark.
Given the talent of the cast, it was no surprise that this film was an actors' showcase. Hawke and Hoffman's chemistry was undeniable, and they help bring this story to life with all the intensity tit deserves. On top of the Letterboxd accolades, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was also a critical darling, a triumph for Lumet at the end of his career.
12 Gattaca (1997) - 3.7
Rent now on Prime Video & Apple TV
Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Gattaca is an enduring sci-fi film that was ahead of its time. Co-starring his former romantic partner Uma Thurman, the film follows Vincent Freeman (Hawke), a man deemed too genetically incompetent for space travel, who swaps identities with a much healthier specimen (Jude Law) to realize his long-held dream to traverse the cosmos.
With salient statements on the nature of identity and its moral scientific quandries, all wrapped in the veneer of a touching love story, Gattaca sees Hawke soar at one of his highest cinematic moments.
11 Mea Maxima Culpa (2012) - 3.8
Stream now on HBO Max
In Alex Gibney's difficult but necessary expose of the pedophilic practices of the Catholic Church, Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God, Hawke voices a character named Pat in a dramatic retelling of the facts. The film won three Primetime Emmys for its harrowing subject.
Difficult to watch but justified in its existence to foster positive change in the church, the movie makes Hawke's performance in First Reformed six years later even stronger and more admirable. The most effective medicine is often the hardest to swallow, and Mea Maxima Culpa is the cinematic equivalent.
10 Waking Life (2001) - 3.8
Stream now on HBO Max
Hawke's professional collaboration with Linklater makes for some of his best movies. In Waking Life, a deep philosophical rumination about what it means to be human, Hawke reprises his role of Jesse from the beloved Before Trilogy.
With groundbreaking rotoscope animation and a star-studded supporting cast, Waking Life calls to mind Linklater's Slacker and A Scanner Darkly, with Jesse providing a strong connective tissue between the director's entire oeuvre. His interaction with Celine (Julie Delpy) four years after they first meet resonates like a few onscreen character reunions.
9 Training Day (2001) - 3.8
Stream now on Netflix
While Denzel Washington deservingly walked away with Oscar gold for his ruthless role in Training Day, much of his powerful performance wouldn't work as well without the opposite turn from Hawke as his wide-eyed yet underestimated young partner. Aside from their iconic quotes, the alchemy of their screen chemistry is why the movie still works 20 years later.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film follows corrupt L.A.P.D. narcotics officer Alonzo (Washington) as he takes his new partner Jake (Hawke) on a tour of the brutalities the job entails. Hawke earned the first of four Oscar nominations for his role as the moral officer.
8 Boyhood (2014) - 3.8
Stream now on AMC+ & Criterion Channel
Going by release date, the surprisingly R-rated Boyhood marks the ninth and most recent time Hawke worked with Linklater, for which both earned Oscar nods. As original and ambitious an idea as there has ever been, the film chronicles the granular year-by-year growth of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) and his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) as they come of age in Texas.
Hawke gives a tender and touching performance as a loving father dealing with divorce from Mason's mother Olivia (Patricia Arquette in an Oscar-winning role) and navigating his own adult pitfalls and professional triumphs. Watching the Boyhood actors authentically age gracefully onscreen is truly inspiring
7 The Northman (2022) - 3.9
Stream now on Prime Video
The Northman is a historical epic directed by Eggers (The Lighthouse, The Witch). It's also a revenge tale in which a Viking prince played by Alexander Skarsgård sets out to find the man who killed his father, King Aurvandill, the War-Raven (Hawke), and sent him into exile.
Hawke's character is a warrior king who fights to one day see his death in battle, but he ends up betrayed and murdered thanks to his own brother. While he died to set the story into motion, it was the memories of the king that led to the bloody war that followed.
6 The Good Lord Bird (2020) - 4.0
Stream now on Fubo & Showtime
A miniseries rather than a movie, but still worth mentioning as it was co-created by Hawke, The Good Lord Bird hit in 2020 and resembled old-school Quentin Tarantino at his best. Based on the 2013 novel by James McBride, the story takes place in pre-Civil War Kansas when Henry "Onion" Shackleford (Joshua Caleb Johnson), an enslaved man joins up with John Brown (Hawke), an abolitionist in the raid at Harpers Ferry that started the American Civil War.
The West received widespread critical acclaim with a great story and some fantastic action. From the moments of dark humor to the violence and the great music soundtrack, this movie soared with Hawke a perfect casting as Brown.
5 First Reformed (2017) - 4.0
Stream now on HBO Max
Hawke gives arguably his most commanding and unforgettable turn in First Reformed, Paul Schrader's ticking timebomb of a character study. Caught at an existential crossroads during a severe crisis of faith, Reverend Ernst Toller (Hawke) becomes increasingly unnerved in the wake of climate change, a local tragedy, and the 250th anniversary of the small church he operates in rural New York.
Trenchant, unpredictable, and deeply unsettling, Hawke earned several awards for his performance despite failing to earn an Oscar nod. The final 15 minutes of the film are absolutely nerve-shredding, reminding audiences that Schrader (who did get nominated for Best Original Screenplay) and Hawke are still at the top of their game.
4 Before Midnight (2013) - 4.1
Rent now on Prime Video & Apple TV
Three of Hawke's best films belong to Linklater's endlessly quotable Before Trilogy. The third and final iteration, Before Midnight, is set in Greece nine years after the events in Before Sunrise. Jesse (Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) are finishing vacation with their two daughters, and the couple severely pushes the limits of their intimate bond.
Naturalistic and realistic as can be, many think the loose, casual dialogue between Jesse and Celine is improvised, but every word is tightly scripted. It's a real testament to Hawke and Delpy's contributions as co-writers (both earned Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar nods), stellar actors, and alchemical screen partners, who make their partnership feel so authentic and alive.
3 Dead Poets Society (1989) - 4.2
Rent now on Apple TV & Prime Video
Few films are as uplifting and inspirational as Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society, thanks in large part to the late great Robin Williams' heartfelt performance. However, without Hawke's timorous turn as Todd Anderson, the unforgettable lines and touching teachings of his English professor wouldn't resonate as long.
The film not only celebrates the written word but also encourages daring individualism among youngsters too afraid of challenging the status quo. The rebellious spirit that Todd unlocks thanks to his time in class is movingly motivational, with Hawke giving a precocious performance far wiser than his years. Dead Poets Society is also one of the highest-grossing movies of Hawke's career.
2 Before Sunset (2004) - 4.3
Stream now on Roku
Nine years after Celine stood Jesse up during their annual reunion, the two meet in Prague to catch up and rekindle their relationship. That is the central conceit of the all-time great romance movie Before Sunset, the second leg of the Before Trilogy that sets itself apart by the real-time chronology that unfolds in the film.
When Jesse reveals he has a plane to catch, the movie counts down the time between Jesse and Celine's reunion and his harried decision to stay with Celine or catch the flight and return to his unhappy life. This real-time framing adds urgency and immediacy to Jesse's decision, with Hawke and Delpy effortlessly slipping into the romantic roles they originated nine years earlier. As they did with Before Midnight, Hawke and Delpy shared Academy Award nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay with Linklater.
1 Before Sunrise (1995) - 4.3
Stream now on Roku
Jesse and Celine met for the first time by random chance on a train from Budapest to Vienna in Before Sunrise, the best Hawke movie to date according to Letterboxd. Simply walking and talking together until the sun comes up, the intimate bond that the two make overnight couldn't feel more real or romantic.
Inspired by a similar evening Linklater spent in Philadephia during his 20s, the film captures the movie magic of young love like few others, leading to a lifelong personal and professional relationship for Hawke, Delpy, and Linklater that far transcends the quality of the movie itself.