Ethan Hawke is reacting to his daughter Maya Hawke’s comments about certain producers wanting to cast actors based on the amount of Instagram followers they have.
The 54-year-old Dead Poets Society actor was in attendance at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival, where he addressed comments made by his 26-year-old daughter, whom he shares with ex Uma Thurman.
In an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Maya revealed that she knows several “smart directors” who have been told by producers that they must cast actors with a certain amount of Instagram followers for their projects.
“I don’t care about Instagram. Instagram sucks,” she said.
“Right, well just so you know, if you have over this many followers you can get the movie funded. It’s a really confusing line to walk.”
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When asked by the press at the festival about her comments, Ethan said he’s encountered this as well, saying it’s “crazy,” via Variety.
“I really feel for these people. It’s really hard,” he said.
“Sometimes I’ll be setting a movie up and someone will say, ‘Oh, you should cast Suzie.’ I’m like, ‘Who is she?’ ‘She has 10 million followers.’ I’m like, ‘OK cool, has she acted before?’ ‘No, but…’ And you’re like, ‘Wow, so this is going to help me get the movie made? This is crazy,’” he explained.
“So if I don’t have this public-facing [platform], I don’t have a career? And if I get more followers I might get that part? What?”
He went on to say that he meets “so many young actors that think being an actor is protein shakes and going to the gym.”
“I wish they could meet Phil Hoffman like I did when I was 18, because it’s a much more substantive and enjoyable life. I mean, go to the gym if you want to, but that doesn’t make you — Robert De Niro is not great because he has a six-pack. If the part calls for it, he’ll do it, and that’s awesome. But he’s so much more than that.”
Ethan added that Maya has taught him a lot about social media and how it can play into the industry.
“She’s like, ‘Dad, you need an Instagram account… That was a terrible post Dad, get rid of it.’ But she’s an artist, my daughter. You can’t stop her. She’s always creative: painting, singing, writing music, acting. I don’t worry about her, she’ll figure that out. But I learn a lot from her now,” he explained.
Find out who is set to appear in the final season of Stranger Things alongside Maya.
