From the time Ethan Hawke appeared in the 1989 best picture nominee “Dead Poets Society” through his Oscar-nominated performance in the 2001 film “Training Day” and his Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the 2004 film “Before Sunset,” Hawke has been a major presence in American cinema both in front of and behind the camera.

James Brown is gone, so Hawke today is not only the 2025 Variety Virtuoso honoree at the Miami Film Festival GEMS Nov. 2, he also has a shot at the “Hardest Working Man in Show Business” moniker.

He’s on Hulu’s “The Low Down.” He’s just directed “Highway 99: A Double Album,” the epic documentary study of country music legend Merle Haggard. He’s got horror franchise “Black Phone 2” out in theaters. And his turn as legendary song lyricist Lorenz Hart in Richar

See Full Page