Ethan Hawke (born November 6, 1970, Austin, Texas, U.S.) is an American actor, director, and novelist best known for his portrayals of cerebral sensitive men.. Hawke, who was raised in New Jersey, began acting while in high school and at age 15 made his film debut in Explorers (1985), playing a teenager who builds a spaceship. In 1988 he enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University to study drama but dropped out after a few months to take a role as a prep school student in Dead Poets Society (1989 ...