Editing Ethan Hawke (section)

===1980s: Early years and ''Dead Poets Society''===
Hawke obtained his mother's permission to attend his first casting call at the age of 14,<ref name="sunrise">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/oct/08/features.fiction|title=Another sunrise|last=Halpern|first=Dan|date=October 8, 2005|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=February 3, 2009|location=London|archive-date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228205304/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/oct/08/features.fiction|url-status=live}}</ref> and secured his first film role in [[Joe Dante]]'s ''[[Explorers (film)|Explorers]]'' (1985), in which he played an alien-obsessed schoolboy alongside [[River Phoenix]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E00E2DB1738F931A25754C0A963948260|title=The Screen: 'Explorers'|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=July 12, 1985|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-date=November 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106091711/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E00E2DB1738F931A25754C0A963948260|url-status=live}}</ref> The film was favorably reviewed<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/explorers/|title=Explorer Movie Reviews|date=July 12, 1985|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-date=February 23, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223201107/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/explorers/|url-status=live}}</ref> but had poor box office results. This failure caused Hawke to quit acting for a brief period after the film's release.<ref name="payoff"/> Hawke later described the disappointment as difficult to bear at such a young age, adding, "I would never recommend that a kid act."<ref name="payoff"/>

In 1989, Hawke made his breakthrough appearance in [[Peter Weir]]'s ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'', playing one of the students taught by [[Robin Williams]] as a charismatic English teacher.<ref name="actors"/> The ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' reviewer noted "Hawke, as the painfully shy Todd, gives a haunting performance."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/dead-poets-society-1200428019/|title=Dead Poets Society Review|date=January 1, 1989|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-date=March 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304220806/http://variety.com/1988/film/reviews/dead-poets-society-1200428019/|url-status=live}}</ref> The film received considerable acclaim,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead_poets_society|title=Dead Poets Society (1989)|access-date=September 22, 2017|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|date=June 2, 1989 |archive-date=August 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830120201/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dead_poets_society|url-status=live}}</ref> winning the [[BAFTA Award for Best Film]] and an [[Academy Award]] nomination for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film/film|title=1990 in Film|publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]]|access-date=September 22, 2017|archive-date=September 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922194114/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1990/film/film|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1990|title=The 62nd Academy Awards|publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]|access-date=September 22, 2017|archive-date=October 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001073500/https://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/62nd-winners.html|url-status=live}}</ref> With revenue of $235&nbsp;million worldwide, it remains Hawke's most commercially successful movie to date.<ref name="earnings">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=ethanhawke.htm|title=Ethan Hawke Movie Box Office Results|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=February 3, 2009|archive-date=February 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215103155/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?view=Actor&id=ethanhawke.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Hawke later described the opportunities he was offered as a result of the film's success as critical to his decision to continue acting: 
{{blockquote|I didn't want to be an actor and I went back to college. But then the [film's] success was so monumental that I was getting offers to be in such interesting movies and be in such interesting places, and it seemed silly to pursue anything else.<ref name="sunrise" />}}

While filming ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'' he auditioned for what would be his next film, 1989's comedy drama ''[[Dad (1989 film)|Dad]]'', where he played [[Ted Danson]]'s son and [[Jack Lemmon]]'s grandson.<ref name="payoff" /> Hawke's next film, 1991's ''[[White Fang (1991 film)|White Fang]]'', brought his first leading role. The film, an adaptation of [[Jack London]]'s [[White Fang|novel of the same name]], featured Hawke as Jack Conroy, a [[Yukon]] gold hunter who befriends a [[wolfdog]] (played by [[Jed (wolfdog)|Jed]]). According to ''[[The Oregonian]]'', "Hawke does a good job as young Jack&nbsp;... He makes Jack's passion for White Fang real and keeps it from being ridiculous or overly sentimental."<ref>{{cite news |first=Ted|last=Mahar|title='White Fang': A Boy, A Mine And A Dog|date=January 24, 1991|work=[[The Oregonian]]|page=C14}}</ref> He appeared in [[Keith Gordon]]'s ''[[A Midnight Clear]]'' (1992), a well-received war film based on [[William Wharton (author)|William Wharton]]'s novel of the same name.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1039575-1039575-midnight_clear/ |title=A Midnight Clear&nbsp;– Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=June 17, 2013 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |date=March 9, 2010 |archive-date=May 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520194032/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1039575-1039575-midnight_clear/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the survival drama ''[[Alive (1993 film)|Alive]]'' (1993), adapted from [[Piers Paul Read]]'s [[Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors|1974 non-fiction book]], Hawke portrayed [[Nando Parrado]], one of the survivors of [[Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571]], which crashed in the Andes.<ref name="Ebert">{{cite news | url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/alive-1993 | title=Alive Review | work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] | date=January 15, 1993 | first=Roger | last=Ebert | access-date=June 17, 2013 | archive-date=January 18, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118193128/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/alive-1993 | url-status=live }}</ref>