How The Outsiders Shaped Ethan Hawke’s Teenage Years
Ethan Hawke opens up about the lasting influence of The Outsiders, sharing how the film left a deep mark on his youth and shaped his path as an actor.
Ethan Hawke’s journey through the world of film has been anything but predictable. While he could have easily settled into the role of a classic leading man, he’s always mixed things up, moving between indie flicks and big-budget productions. One day he’s stirring up trouble for Greta Gerwig in Maggie’s Plan, the next he’s donning a cowboy hat as Jolly the Pimp in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. He’s never been one to stick to the obvious path, and it’s made his career all the more interesting.
Like many in the industry, Hawke’s love for cinema started young. There was one film in particular that really knocked him for six and changed the way he saw things. At 13, he watched Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders for the first time. The film, based on SE Hinton’s novel, dives into the lives of two rival gangs in 1960s Oklahoma. Anyone who’s been through their teenage years knows how intense everything feels at that age, and Hawke was no exception.
First Impressions and Lasting Impact
He was completely taken in by the story and the cast, which included a bunch of future stars like Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Matt Dillon, and Ralph Macchio. Looking back, Hawke described seeing the film as
“one of the high points of my life”
and said it
“meant the world”
to him. Even now, decades later, it’s easy to see why the film left such a mark. Coppola’s direction and the raw energy of the young cast made it something special, even if the script was a bit rough around the edges. The performances were so full-on that you couldn’t help but get swept up in it all.
Passing It On
Years later, when a director’s cut of The Outsiders came out, Hawke took his daughter Maya along to see it. She was about the same age he’d been when he first watched it, but her reaction was a bit different. After the film, she turned to him and said,
“Now I understand the way you dress”
. It might have stung a bit, but the story didn’t end there. A decade on, Maya admitted,
“Since then, it’s become the way I dress”
. The film’s influence had quietly made its way into the next generation.
A Defining Moment
Whether or not The Outsiders was the reason Hawke chose to become an actor, it’s clear the experience stuck with him. In a 2024 Q&A, when asked about the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, he rattled off the usual suspects—his kids, the Grand Canyon—but then added Diane Lane’s character from The Outsiders. Coming from someone who’s seen a fair bit in his time, that’s saying something.