Ethan Hawke: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Jesse - The "Before" Trilogy

The crowning achievement of Hawke's career is unquestionably his stunning work on Richard Linklater's Before... trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight), playing Jesse, a young man who meets Celine (Julie Delpy) in the first installment, reconnects with her in the second, and in the third must consider how deep their love for one another really goes.

Hawke, Delpy and Linklater all collaborate on the writing for these films together, and as such Hawke scooped an Oscar nomination for Before Sunset's screenplay, something it is quite possible he will repeat next year with Before Midnight.

Together with Delpy, Hawke is startling naturalistic, all the more impressive because Linklater opts for non-intrusive, lengthy takes which require the actors to absolutely be on their A-game. An argument between Jesse and Celine near the end of Before Midnight is easily the best work that either of the actors has ever done, and with a little luck, Hawke could scoop his next Oscar nomination. Above all else, I thoroughly implore you to check out the film (as well as the previous two if you haven't already), which is out now in UK cinemas.

And now, click "Next" to check out Hawke's suckiest performances...