Ethan Hawke’s journey into adulthood
In the 1990s it seemed like Hawke had it all. Then in 2003, his life fell apart.
In the 1990s it seemed like Ethan Hawke had it all, said Tom Shone in the London Guardian. Critics praised his performances in movies like Reality Bites and Before Sunrise, and hailed his wife, Uma Thurman, as Hollywood’s greatest beauty. Then in 2003, his life fell apart. Hawke split from Thurman amid rumors that he’d had an affair with their two children’s nanny, Ryan Shawhughes. Labeled a love rat by the tabloids, he moved into New York’s notoriously grungy Chelsea Hotel. “I call it the black years,” says Hawke, 41. “Nothing teaches you like getting leveled. And I got leveled in my early 30s.” He beat himself up over his failed marriage, having seen his own parents divorce when he was 3 years old. “I put all this energy into not making the same mistakes my parents did, and I just re-enacted them all. I thought I was so much smarter than everybody. And I’m not.” Hawke slowly overcame his depression, and in 2008 married Shawhughes, with whom he now has two children. He’s found fatherhood easier the second time around. “I’m really the right age now. I like being home,” he says. When his first child was born, he was 27. “I look at pictures of myself and wonder: What was I thinking? I didn’t really understand what a meandering road adulthood is.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published