Actor Ethan Hawke is pretty much the male ambassador for Gen X ennui. He cemented his status as the Gen X poster boy with his early roles in Dead Poet’s Society, Reality Bites, and the Before trilogy. As he’s aged, Hawke hasn’t remained stagnant, he has aged nicely into the kind of actor who really sinks his teeth into every role.

Hawke has been nominated for four Academy Awards. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2002 and 2015 for Training Day and Boyhood respectively. He was also nominated for two Best Adapted Screenplay Awards in 2005 and 2014 for Before Sunset and Before Midnight. He’s directed three films as well as a documentary and three off-Broadway plays, but that’s still not all; Hawke has also written three novels and one graphic novel. He’s not a one-trick pony. Far from it.

His recent appearances in Moon Knight, The Black Phone, and Leave the World Behind have put the spotlight on him again, and people are impressed with his versatile acting prowess and the ability to make any character his own. If you want to catch up on some of Hawke's best works throughout the years, here is a list of the actor's best movies.

Updated 27th November 2023: Fans of Ethan Hawke will be glad to hear that this article has been updated with more analysis of the actor's best roles.

12 First Reformed (2017)

Ethan Hawke in Paul Schrader's First Reformed
A24

In First Reformed, Ethan Hawke plays Reverend Ernst Toller, who is having a crisis of faith. He is a former military chaplain whose son was killed in the Iraq War, and he turns to alcohol to cope. Meanwhile, his church struggles to survive at a crossroads with dwindling membership; it's becoming more of a tourist stop for its role in the Underground Railroad. The reverend begins a strange, healing relationship with a newly widowed woman (Amanda Seyfried) in a nod to classic art films Winter Light and Diary of a Country Priest.

Why You Should Watch It

Hawke’s character in the movie offers a ponderous look into a person's crisis of faith after a traumatic life event. His powerful performance in director Paul Schrader's moving exploration of faith was hailed by critics and nominated for Best Actor at the Independent Spirit Awards. The other actors in the movie, especially Seyfried, also make for an excellent watch, meaning the psychological drama is an impressive, albeit dark, watch.

Rent on Prime Video

11 The Black Phone (2022)

Black Phone
The Black Phone
R
Horror

Release Date
June 24, 2022
Director
Scott Derrickson

The Black Phone is a 2022 horror movie where a man simply called "The Grabber" kidnaps and kills children. The sadistic man plays games with his victims and punishes them if they try to break free. One day, a boy named Finney (Mason Thames) gets kidnapped by The Grabber and locked inside his basement. He discovers a phone in the house that receives calls from the murderer's past victims, who help him stay alive.

Why You Should Watch It

Ethan Hawke plays the character of the sadistic Grabber in the movie and is truly terrifying in the role. Even though it is not his first appearance in a horror movie, he never really played a character so truly evil and terrifying as The Grabber. Hawke's performance in this movie along with the unique plot, which is based on Joe Hill's short story of the same name, make it a great horror thriller.

Stream on Peacock TV

10 The Purge (2013)

Ethan Hawke in The Purge (2013)
Universal Pictures

In another horror role for Hawke, The Purge is an utterly creepy film. In the movie which launched a sweeping franchise, Ethan Hawke is forced to keep his family safe during the annual 12-hour period during which all criminal activity – including murder – is legal.

Why You Should Watch It

Hawke’s status as the beloved GenX poster boy helps audiences connect with the terror his character feels trying to protect his family. Without the built-in associations with the actor, the film doesn't create enough character development to warrant an emotional connection, so Hawke's presence definitely grounds the horror. The film in itself is one of the best home invasion horror movies of the last decade.

Stream on DirecTV

9 Maudie (2016)

Maudie
Maudie
PG-13
Release Date
June 16, 2016
Director
Aisling Walsh
Cast
Ethan Hawke , Sally Hawkins , Kari Matchett , Gabrielle Rose , Billy MacLellan , Erin Mick
Main Genre
Biography

Starring Sally Hawkins alongside Ethan Hawke, Maudie is a biographical drama film that came out in 2016. It is based on the life of a famous folk artist from Canada, Maud Lewis. It is not only a heartwarming story of Maud gaining popularity due to her talent, but also a sweet love story between Maud and Everett Lewis (Hawke). When Maud's brother sells their family home, she moves in with Lewis to work as a cleaner for him in exchange for a room. Lewis supports her dreams and eventually, the two of them get married.

Why You Should Watch It

The film even has a very sweet twist which will definitely make you tear up. It is also a great look into the life of Maud Lewis and how she overcame all the obstacles that life threw at her to become a beloved artist. Both Hawkins and Hawke have done a tremendous job of bringing the characters to life on screen.

Rent on Prime Video

8 Dead Poets Society (1989)

dead poets society
Dead Poets Society
PG
Release Date
June 2, 1989
Director
Peter Weir
Cast
Robin Williams , Robert Sean Leonard , Ethan Hawke , Josh Charles , Gale Hansen , Dylan Kussman
Main Genre
Drama

In 1989, Ethan Hawke had his breakthrough role in Dead Poets Society. The film, and his role in it, was such a hit that he dropped out of college at Carnegie Mellon University in order to pursue an acting career. He was just 19 when the Robin Williams film was released. Hawke was one of the main characters who benefited from Williams’ character John Keating’s unorthodox teaching methods. He was initially intimidated by the star but learned near the end of shooting that Williams was intimidated by him, predicting the great career Hawke had ahead of him.

Why You Should Watch It

Dead Poets Society is considered to be one of the greatest coming-of-age dramas of all time. The film, while heartbreaking, will invoke feelings of great passion and sympathy in the hearts of the audience. The actors, including Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Gale Hansen did a fantastic job of bringing their characters to life on screen and making the audience fall in love with them.

Stream on Paramount TV

7 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
R
Release Date
September 26, 2007
Director
Sidney Lumet
Main Genre
Crime

Starring Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the roles of brothers Hank and Andy, the crime thriller movie Before the Devil Knows You're Dead tells the story of how their effort to rob their own parents' jewelry store due to some financial problems goes horribly wrong. The movie, however, is more than just a thriller as it mostly focuses on the complicated relationship between the brothers and their father, Charles.

Why You Should Watch It

Most significantly, the storyline of Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is incredibly gripping. Both Hawke and Hoffman are great in their respective roles, as is Albert Finney in the role of Charles. The way this movie portrays the dynamic between the two brothers and their father gets more interesting as the story fully unfolds into one of betrayal and deceit, helped by its non-linear narrative going back and forth in time. A fantastic balance between a thriller and a family drama, this film is a must-watch for Hawke fans.

Stream on Hulu

6 Training Day (2001)

training day
Training Day
R
Release Date
October 5, 2001
Director
Antoine Fuqua
Main Genre
Action

In Training Day, Ethan Hawke’s narcotics unit cop Officer Jake Hoyt is paired up with Academy Award winner Denzel Washington’s seasoned but corrupt Narcotics unit cop Detective Alonzo Harris on a training mission with the LAPD through gang and crime-ridden neighborhoods. The film is enthralling as we see the two officers get themselves into several life-and-death situations during the one-day evaluation of Hoyt, who is up for a promotion.

Why You Should Watch It

The film earned Washington a well-deserved Oscar and Hawke an Oscar nomination for his extremely tense, stressful performance as an idealistic man in way over his head in this dark classic. Both of these actors played their characters flawlessly and gave us the nail-biting end we expect from a fast-paced film like this. It becomes even more exciting when we learn that the character of Alonzo was based on a real corrupt Narcotics officer of the LAPD named Rafael Perez.

Stream on Max

5 Predestination (2014)

Predestination
Predestination
R
Release Date
August 28, 2014
Cast
Sarah Snook , Ethan Hawke , Noah Taylor , Elise Jansen , Freya Stafford , Christopher Kirby
Main Genre
Sci-Fi

Predestination is a sci-fi action thriller based on a short story named —All You Zombies—by author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of a time-traveling agent named Agent Doe, who is sent on one final mission to catch a bomber who has been evading him forever. On his final mission, several mind-bending occurrences take place.

Why You Should Watch It

The movie is so full of sudden and unexpected revelations that it can be a bit hard to keep up. Nonetheless, it has an amazing storyline with Hawke and Succession's Sarah Snook at the center of it. Both of them did a fantastic job in the movie, and it is truly a treat for sci-fi lovers. The movie moves at a break-neck pace, and you might have to go back in after finishing it to understand the whole film better. However, this mind-bending tale is surely one of Hawke's best works.

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4 Reality Bites (1994)

Reality Bites
Reality Bites
PG-13
Release Date
February 18, 1994
Director
Ben Stiller
Main Genre
Comedy

For many people of Ethan Hawke’s generation, Reality Bites is his definitive film. It’s what makes him the Gen X mascot and associates him with intelligent but disaffected youth everywhere. The 1994 film follows a group of twenty-somethings fresh out of college in Houston. Winona Ryder plays Lelaina, a broke aspiring documentary filmmaker. Hawke is Troy, Lelaina’s friend and sometimes boyfriend who is in the middle of a quarter-life crisis. He's charming, frustrating, but ultimately realistic.

Why You Should Watch It

The movie, even though essentially a romantic comedy, has plenty of moments where the reality of love and life truly comes through. The audience will be able to relate to these 20-something main characters who are all trying to cope with different crises. Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Ben Stiller and the other actors in the movie were phenomenal in their respective roles. The young Gen X graduates trying to survive and find love and work in a ruthless city make for a very realistic and heartwarming tale.

Stream on Peacock

3 Gattaca (1997)

Gattaca
Gattaca
PG-13
Release Date
September 7, 1997
Director
Andrew Niccol
Cast
Ethan Hawke , Uma Thurman , Gore Vidal , Xander Berkeley , Jayne Brook , Loren Dean
Main Genre
Drama

The 1997 sci-fi movie Gattaca stars Ethan Hawke in the role of Vincent Freeman, who is a "genetically inferior" man who is denied the chance to travel in space due to his condition. When Vincent's lifelong dreams are crushed due to him being born naturally and thus cited as an "in-valid," he assumes the identity of a swimming star named Jerome Eugene Morrow to get on an upcoming space mission. Other than Hawke, the movie also stars Jude Law and Uma Thurman.

Why You Should Watch It

The movie tells a heartwarming story of a man chasing his dreams even though luck and society are not on his side. It offers great commentary on what the future of Earth might look like if humanity starts to depend too much on genetic modification and how people with less potential will be cast to the side and forgotten. Not only does Gattaca have a thoughtful story to chew on, but it also has all the trappings of an exciting and gripping sci-fi movie to boot.

Stream on DirecTV

2 Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood
Boyhood
R
Release Date
June 5, 2014
Cast
Ellar Coltrane , Patricia Arquette , Ethan Hawke , Elijah Smith , Lorelei Linklater , Steven Chester Prince
Main Genre
Drama

Boyhood is one of the most ambitious fiction film projects ever undertaken. Writer and director Richard Linklater had his cast – Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette, and Ellar Coltrane – reunited each year for 12 years, each time filming another incremental part in the real-time coming-of-age story of the boy (Coltrane) at the center of it all, until it was finally completed and released in 2014.

Why You Should Watch It

While the obvious draw for Boyhood is its unique creative decisions, there's much more to it than the real-time filming. Hawke deservedly earned his second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this role, playing the flighty but loving father to Coltrane's character. Of course, shooting over 12 years has a significant impact on the end result as it adds a sense of gravity to the final result.

Stream on Paramount, Fubo, AMC, Showtime

1 The Before Trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013)

Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in Before Sunrise
Columbia Pictures

In 1995, Ethan Hawke teamed up with Richard Linklater for the first time to play Jesse, an American college student who meets a French girl (Julie Delpy) on a train in Before Sunrise. The two decide to have an adventure in the hours they have left before she returns to Paris, and he flies back to the U.S. in one of the most intelligent romantic films ever made.

Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy reprised their roles as the cast and crew with two more films over the next two decades, with 2004’s Before Sunset and 2013’s Before Midnight following the pair as they age separately and together in a strange and beautiful relationship which takes them to middle-age.

Why This Is Ethan Hawke's Best Work

Hawke, alongside Delpy and Linklater, was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Before Sunset and Before Midnight. The chemistry between the two is unlike any other on-screen couple, and Hawke proves here more than anywhere else why he's such a dynamic, loquacious, magnetic performer. The three movies make up for a great story of love and fate that the romantics are bound to love. The trilogy makes up some of the most romantic movies of the modern age.

Rent on Apple TV+