Two decades later his famous divorce by Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke made an unusual reflection on his personal life and, more precisely, on the childhood of his eldest daughter, Maya Hawke. The actor admitted that those years were not … They were easy for her and she has some regrets as a parent, in an exercise in honesty rare in Hollywood.
Hawke and Thurman had a love affair as intense as the media after meeting on the set of “Gattaca” in 1996. They married and had two children, Maya and Levon, but the relationship broke down in 2004, when the children were only six and two years old. A very public divorce which, as the actor has now admitted, had emotional consequences for his eldest daughter.
“There were a lot of things in his childhood that were really, really difficult and complicated, and things that I regret,” Hawke confessed in a conversation with Sydney Sweeney for “Actors on Actors,” Variety magazine’s interview format. Although she did not want to go into details, she made it clear that this step had a profound impact on her daughter.
The actor nevertheless remembers that Maya found an obvious refuge from a very young age: art. “When I was about four years old, I knew I was going to be an artist. Painting, dancing, singing… this was his safe space throughout his childhood,” he explains. An early sensitivity which, over time, became a solid vocation.
Hawke also shared an anecdote that reflects her daughter’s unconventional personality from a young age. “I remember a teacher asked her, ‘Maya, are you happy?’, because they were worried about her. And she said something like, ‘Do you really think that’s the question?'” he said with a laugh. He was around 13 years old when he condemned: “Am I happy? No, but I don’t aspire to be.. “I think there are more interesting questions.” “I said to myself: I love this girl,” he added.
Far from derailing his path, this emotional complexity seems to have fueled his talent. Maya Hawke first rose to prominence as a teenager in “Little Women” and gained international popularity through her inclusion in “Stranger Things,” where her character, Robin, quickly became an audience favorite. From there, his career continued to grow, with hits like “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood” and several releases lined up.
After his separation from Uma Thurman, Ethan Hawke started a new life with Ryan Shawhughes, who was his children’s nanny, with whom he married in 2008 and had two other daughters. For his part, Thurman also expanded the family. Despite the breakup and the media attention, the two actors established a rule that they have respected for years: don’t talk bad about each other in publicfor the well-being of their children.
Today, as Maya has become one of the most recognized young actresses of her generation, Hawke looks back with a mixture of pride and self-criticism. “I was never afraid that he would devote himself to art,” he concluded. “I knew it would save his life.”
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