Ethan Hawke has revealed the simple advice he gave his actress daughter after losing her role in Netflix's most-watched series
Maya Hawke and Ethan Hawke, photographed in 2023 at the premiere of the film “Wildcat” in which she played the main role and he occupied the director's chair, PHOTO: Joel C Ryan / AP / Profimedia
Newly nominated for a fifth Academy Award, Ethan Hawke says he wants to someday star in a movie with his daughter, Maya Hawke, who rose to fame in Netflix's hit series Stranger Things, writes Variety.
Filmmaking has sometimes been a family business for Ethan Hawke, now 55. He directed his daughter three years ago in the independent film “Wildcat” a biographical drama about the American writer Flannery O'Connor. Ethan Hawke stayed behind the camera for that collaboration, but says he's eager to star alongside Maya.
“Of course! Are you kidding me?,” he said, when asked about this prospect. “I want to be with the star of 'Stranger Things'…” added Ethan Hawke in an interview with Variety magazine at the Sundance Film Festival.
Maya Hawke played the role of Robin Buckley in the series “Stranger Things”, which recently ended with its fifth season. Variety magazine wrote as early as December 23, before the release of episodes 4-7 of the final season, that it helped Netflix set new audience records. Among other things, “Stranger Things” became the most watched series in the history of Netflix, throughout all its seasons.
Speaking at Sundance, the famous independent film festival that will be moving after 46 years, Ethan Hawke revealed that he had some advice for his daughter now that the Netflix series has ended.
“It's time to move on. You have to do it and move on,” he told her. “Don't look back,” the actor emphasized to his daughter, according to his own account.
Ethan Hawke is again testing his chances at the Oscar Award after also starring in an acclaimed series
The veteran actor certainly seems to be following his own advice. Although he is one of the most famous and iconic actors of his generation, he is one of the few who has not been rewarded with any of the major awards of the film industry – the Oscar, the Golden Globe or the BAFTA statuette – and he has not been more successful even at European film festivals such as Cannes or Berlin.
However, he has continued his career undeterred and says there is something “magical” about making films.
“Why can't I sit still? Why do I work so hard?” Hawke asked in the Sundance interview. “I love it. It amazes me when people make a movie every five years. I really love making movies. I started young and fell madly in love with the process. You can't do it alone. It has magic attached to it. Once you've felt the feeling of creating something bigger than yourself and you see how it connects with the audience, you're looking for it again. I'm just always looking for it,” he explained.
He appeared just last year in the drama film “Blue Moon”, the horror feature film “Black Phone 2” and in two television series: the historical drama “The American Revolution” and “The Lowdown”, a dramatic comedy that can also be seen in Romania on the Disney+ streaming platform. The show, in which Hawke plays a truth-obsessed “veridician,” is considered one of the best to come out of 2025.
Hawke recently earned his fifth Academy Award nomination and first for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in “Blue Moon” — in which he plays Lorenz Hart, one of the most famous lyricists in Broadway history.
But the competition at the 2026 gala will be one of the strongest in years, with Timothee Chalamet, Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael B. Jordan also competing for the best actor statuette. The Oscar Awards Gala will take place on March 15.
