Ethan Green Hawke (born November 6, 1970)[1] is an American actor, writer, and director. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Hawke has directed three feature films, three Off-Broadway plays, and a documentary, and written the novels The Hottest State (1996), Ash Wednesday (2002), and Rules for a Knight (2015). He made his film debut with the 1985 science fiction feature Explorers, before making a breakthrough appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society. He then appeared in various films before taking a role in the 1994 Generation X drama Reality Bites, for which he received critical praise. In 1995, Hawke starred in Richard Linklater's romantic drama film Before Sunrise, and later in its sequels Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013), all of which met with critical acclaim.