Ethan Hawke 'knew Maya Hawke would be a success in Hollywood'
Ethan Hawke was always convinced that Maya Hawke would become a success.
Ethan Hawke never questioned Maya Hawke's decision to follow in his footsteps.
The 55-year-old actor never had any doubts that his daughter Maya, 27, would enjoy a successful career in Hollywood, observing that she's a "very good" actress.
Ethan - who had Maya with Uma Thurman, his ex-wife - told Variety: "It was without complication.
"I knew when she was about four that she was gonna be an artist. And I knew that she was gonna be a very good one. That was her safe place, watercolouring, dancing, singing all throughout her childhood.
"There were a lot of things about her childhood that were really, really hard and complicated, and things I regret for her. But anything that had to do with human communication was something she vibrated to."
Ethan believes Maya is perfectly suited to working in the movie business.
The film star shared: "I remember some teacher said, 'Maya, are you happy?' ’Cause they were worried about her.’ And she said something to the effect of, 'Do you really think that’s the question?' I thought, 'I love this kid.' She was about 13.
"'I don’t think that’s a very interesting question. I think there’s a lot more interesting questions than whether I’m happy or not. Am I happy? No. But I don’t aspire to be happy.'
"So I never worried about her going into the arts, because I knew that was gonna save her life."
Meanwhile, Ethan previously admitted to being baffled by actors being hired on the strength of their social media following.
Speaking at the Berlin Film Festival, Ethan explained: "I really feel for these people. It’s really hard. Sometimes I’ll be setting a movie up and someone will say, ‘Oh, you should cast Suzie.’ I’m like, ‘Who is she?’ ‘She has ten million followers.’ I’m like, ‘OK cool, has she acted before?’ ‘No, but…’ And you’re like, ‘Wow, so this is going to help me get the movie made? This is crazy.'
"So if I don’t have this public-facing [platform], I don’t have a career? And if I get more followers I might get that part? What?"
Ethan observed that so many young performers "think being an actor is protein shakes and going to the gym".
The Hollywood star continued: "I wish they could meet Phil Hoffman like I did when I was 18, because it’s a much more substantive and enjoyable life.
"I mean, go to the gym if you want to, but that doesn’t make you - Robert De Niro is not great because he has a six-pack. If the part calls for it, he’ll do it, and that’s awesome. But he’s so much more than that."
