Despite the years spent bracing through it, Ethan Hawke has kept his doubts about Hollywood. Despite Maya Hawke following in his footsteps, he holds his own against fame reaching you before you reach it.

Ethan Hawke has likened fame to pure poison for young actors. Reflecting on his early Hollywood entry in showbiz, he expressed how becoming famous young warps the mind in subtle ways.

"I think celebrity is like a tiny drop of mercury. It's poison for your brain," he said on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

According to Hawke, school plays or choirs, are for children and not professionally driven spotlights.

He himself admitted to being eased into stardom through Dead Poets Society. Citing examples like Jodie Foster and Julia Roberts, he expressed not wanting Roberts' blow-up after Pretty Woman to be faced by anyone, as per The Joe Rogan Experience.

Yet amid the mercury's menace, Hawke beams like the proud father he is, dodging his own dire prophecies.

Ethan Hawke does not like young fame, except for one

Despite these worries, Ethan Hawke expressed no qualms about his daughter, Maya Hawke's artistic pursuit. He admitted to having sensed her destiny as an artist from age four, while speaking to Sydney Sweeney on Variety.

"I never worried about her going into the arts, because I knew that was gonna save her life", he said. Through her watercoloring, dancing, and singing, Hawke understood how art had become her refuge amid childhood hardships.

Ethan Hawke's insights spotlight Hollywood's double-edged sword for the young. As per him, true art demands maturity over meteoric rises, ensuring careers bloom sustainably beyond the fleeting limelight.

Written by

Adiba Nizami

Edited by

Aliza Siddiqui