Ethan Hawke was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2002 for his performance in Antoine Fuqua's crime thriller “Training Day.” He lost the award to Jim Broadbent (“Iris”), but gained some much-needed perspective from his “Training Day” co-star Denzel Washington, who won Best Actor that very night.
In a recent interview on Max's “Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?” series, the host asked Hawke about the story Washington leaned over to Hawke and whispered in his ear after he lost his Oscar. He said, “You’re better off not winning. “It was better to lose.”
“You don't want awards to improve your status. You want to improve your award status. That’s the way he thinks,” Hawke said of Washington’s advice on Oscars night. “This is what I say about playing with Babe Ruth. The Academy Awards have more power because Denzel has a couple. It didn’t elevate who he was.”
“I think he’s the greatest actor of our generation,” he said early in the interview, comparing Washington to baseball icon Babe Ruth.
“The experience and voice I had every day acting with Denzel was so perfect with his imagination,” Hawke said. “I think it would be interesting to see how Babe Ruth tied his shoelaces. You know what he thought about different pitchers, right? But it takes a huge amount of energy and thought to create it. That's right. Creating those moments, seeing someone work that way, is like the entrance to all the other rooms you can enter in your career. And to see my chosen profession performed at that level was truly inspiring to me.”
During his career, Hawke was nominated for four Oscars, two for supporting roles (“Training Day” and “Boyhood”) and two for best original screenplay (“Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight”). When asked if he would like to win an Oscar for 'Training Day,' the actor responded, “No. I mean, yeah, I guess that means I won't.”
“I sat next to Denzel Washington at the Oscars and got nominated against Ian McKellen.” Hawke added that I had already won. You see, it was impossible not to see it another way.
Hawke is currently on a press tour for his latest film, Wildcat, in which his daughter Maya Hawke plays novelist Flannery O'Connor. The film opens in U.S. theaters on May 3. Hawke's “Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?” Here's the full episode. Streaming on Max.