These are ten of Ethan Hawke’s strongest films, ranked as an editorial selection rather than a definitive verdict. The order weighs his performance, each film’s place in his career, the range it adds, and the film’s significance. The Before trilogy counts as one entry—Before Sunrise—so the list includes ten distinct movies; the other two films are discussed separately below.
How these Ethan Hawke movies are ranked
Hawke’s career includes an early breakout, 1990s dramas, sustained collaborations with Richard Linklater, award-recognized performances, and later work with directors such as Paul Schrader. The ranking gives priority to films that combine a memorable Hawke performance with lasting career or film significance, while also making room for different eras and kinds of roles. Other reasonable lists could favor genre variety, awards, or a different chapter of his career.
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Daybreakers 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray | Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe | Region Free | $39.39 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Before films are three separate movies, not a single feature. Counting only the first film as a ranked entry leaves room for ten distinct titles; Before Sunset and Before Midnight appear afterward as essential companion films.
The 10 best Ethan Hawke movies, ranked
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Before Sunrise (1995)
Hawke’s Jesse meets Julie Delpy’s Céline on a train, and the pair spend a night walking and talking in Vienna. The film makes conversation, listening, and the passing hours its central drama. Hawke’s relaxed, searching performance is the foundation of a defining collaboration with Linklater and Delpy, and the trilogy’s first chapter is the strongest single pick for a list emphasizing romantic, conversational cinema. BAFTA’s career retrospective documents the collaboration and the series’ development.
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Boyhood (2014)
Linklater’s film follows Mason from childhood into young adulthood, with Hawke playing his father, Mason Sr. The production’s unusual form is part of its achievement: filming began in 2002 and continued intermittently over twelve years, as BAFTA records. Hawke’s performance changes alongside the character’s life, balancing warmth, immaturity, and gradual growth. The film is both a distinctive acting showcase and one of the clearest examples of his long creative partnership with Linklater.
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First Reformed (2017)
As Reverend Ernst Toller, Hawke plays a pastor confronting spiritual crisis and personal despair in Paul Schrader’s tightly controlled drama. The restrained performance makes small shifts in expression and voice carry unusual weight, offering a stark contrast to the openness of Before Sunrise and the lived-in family role in Boyhood. Rotten Tomatoes’ published critical framing describes Hawke’s work as a standout; that is a critical assessment, not an objective measure of the film’s quality. In a Rotten Tomatoes interview about the film, Hawke praised Schrader’s experience and continuing curiosity.
Rank #2
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Training Day (2001)
Hawke plays rookie officer Jake Hoyt opposite Denzel Washington’s corrupt veteran detective Alonzo Harris. The film turns their shifting power dynamic into a pressure-cooker crime story, and Hawke gives Jake a credible mix of ambition, fear, and moral hesitation. The role earned Hawke an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, a career milestone noted by BAFTA. It ranks high for the force of the performance and the way it demonstrates his ability to hold his own in a volatile two-hander.
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Dead Poets Society (1989)
In Peter Weir’s drama, Hawke plays Todd Anderson, a shy student at a strict boarding school who begins to find his voice. His gradual emergence gives the film one of its most affecting character arcs. BAFTA describes the film as the one that brought Hawke to prominence, making it an indispensable early-career selection as well as a strong performance in its own right.
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Before Sunset (2004)
Nine years after Before Sunrise, Jesse and Céline meet again in Paris. The film trades the first chapter’s possibility for the weight of time, choices, and missed chances, while retaining its conversational intimacy. Hawke co-wrote the film with Linklater and Delpy. BAFTA notes that this installment and Before Midnight received screenplay Oscar nominations. As a standalone performance, it shows how much emotional history Hawke can convey through a reunion that unfolds in real time.
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Gattaca (1997)
In Andrew Niccol’s science-fiction drama, Hawke plays Vincent, a man who challenges a society that assigns status and opportunity according to genetic prediction. The role adds a cool, speculative register to a filmography also known for intimate naturalism. It is a valuable choice for viewers looking for Hawke in a high-concept story, and an important 1990s title in his official filmography.
Rank #4
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Reality Bites (1994)
Hawke’s Troy is a charismatic, restless presence in this portrait of young adults trying to work out what they want from life. The performance leans into his dry humor and anti-establishment energy, giving the film a different texture from the formal intensity of Gattaca or the later moral seriousness of First Reformed. It stands as a recognizable 1990s entry in Hawke’s career and a useful counterpoint to his more restrained dramatic roles.
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Before Midnight (2013)
The trilogy’s third film finds Jesse and Céline years into their relationship, with the romance now tested by family life, work, and accumulated resentments. Hawke and Delpy bring the characters’ shared history into an argument that feels both specific and painfully familiar. The film completes the progression begun in Before Sunrise and continued in Before Sunset; its screenplay was also Oscar-nominated, according to BAFTA.
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Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)
Sidney Lumet’s crime drama casts Hawke as Hank, one of two brothers whose plan to rob their parents’ jewelry store spirals into devastating consequences. The fractured chronology and morally compromised characters make this a markedly darker experience than the Before films. Hawke brings vulnerability and desperation to a role that broadens the list beyond his best-known Linklater collaborations. The film is included in his official filmography.
How the other two Before films fit
The trilogy works best as three distinct films rather than one combined title: Before Sunrise captures a chance encounter, Before Sunset revisits its possibility years later, and Before Midnight explores what happens after romance becomes a shared life. Each can stand alone, but their changing conversations gain depth when watched in order. Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy co-wrote the trilogy; BAFTA notes Oscar screenplay nominations for the latter two films.
What are Ethan Hawke’s best films?
For a single starting point, choose Before Sunrise for his conversational, romantic work; Training Day for an Oscar-nominated dramatic performance; or First Reformed for a severe later-career role. To follow the evolution of one collaboration, watch the Before trilogy in release order. This list favors performance and career significance over a genre-only ranking, so films such as The Black Phone, Predestination, and Sinister are not included; genre-focused lists may make different choices.
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