Ethan Hawke’s movies remain effortlessly entertaining in great part due to his stellar performances. While Hawke has put in a considerable amount of excellent work throughout his career, Training Day remains one of his most iconic films. The actor received praise for his role in Antoine Fuqua’s 2001 crime drama, in which he starred opposite Denzel Washington. Unlike his co-star, Hawke didn’t score an Oscar for his work, but he did receive some keen advice from Washington about that loss, which turned out to be “right.”
As part of the 74th Academy Awards, Ethan Hawke was nominated for Best Supporting Actor alongside Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellen, Jim Broadbent and Jon Voight. The category was stacked, and Broadbent ultimately won the award for his performance in Iris. I’d be tempted to think that losing such a prestigious award would sting to some degree. However, as Hawke explained during his appearance on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast, he explained that some wise words from his co-star put it all into perspective for him:
