NEED TO KNOW
- Ethan Hawke says his teenage daughters find it harder having a “famous sister” — Maya Hawke — than a famous father
- “Nobody cares about my dad,” Ethan recalled his daughters, Clementine, 17, and Indiana, 14, telling a director
- Maya has previously revealed she knew how big Stranger Things was when a fan approached her, not her dad, in public
At least in the hallways of his teenage kids, Ethan Hawke’s stardom has been eclipsed by his daughter Maya Hawke.
Appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday, Jan. 5, the Oscar-nominated actor, 55, recalled how his Stranger Things star daughter, 27, “upstaged” him while he was filming his show The Lowdown on location in Oklahoma.
“We shot it down in Tulsa. My wife [Ryan Shawhughes] was a producer on the show. We brought the whole family down there,” said Ethan, referring to his teenage daughters, Clementine Jane Hawke, 17, and Indiana Hawke, 14.
His daughters, who attended public school in Tulsa while he filmed The Lowdown, “came to visit me on set,” the actor continued, “and the director, Sterlin Harjo, says, ‘So, is it hard having a famous dad when you’re at a new school?’ And they were like, ‘It’s hard having a famous sister. Nobody cares about my dad. … My sister’s picture is in the lockers everywhere.’”
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The Blue Moon actor recalled the funny exchange shortly after praising Maya — whom he shares with ex-wife Uma Thurman, along with son Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke, 23 — for her turn as Robin Buckley in the final season of Stranger Things.
“A lot of people in America were watching Stranger Things, but not everybody in America was watching their daughter, with their siblings right to their side,” he said on The Late Show. “And so we were invested, and I have to say, hats off.”
“I thought Maya did a great job,” added the actor. “I thought the whole show did a great job.”
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While promoting the fifth and final season of the hit Netflix series, Maya recalled being approached in public with her actor dad, while he was ignored. It was the moment she grasped how big the show really was, she told entertainment journalist MJ Marfori.
“I can’t believe I’m the person who’s about to bring this up,” Maya said, “but the moment that, that really struck me, so I was walking down the street with my dad and someone went, ‘Whoa, hey, and my dad turned around and he went, ‘Sorry, I’m not doing any pictures or photos today,’ and then like kept walking.”
Ethan Hawke Instagram
Then, the actress, who joined the show in season 3, continued, “The guy was like, ‘I don’t know who you are, man. I wanted to talk to Robin.’ And I was like, ‘Oh boy, it’s a big show.’”
Asked how that interaction made her feel, Maya added, “Honestly, it felt great. I mean, it was embarrassing for everyone involved, but in the most delicious possible way.”
Outside of Stranger Things, Maya has starred in films like Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Do Revenge and The Kill Room, which she worked on with mom Thurman, 55. She also worked with her dad in the 2020 series The Good Lord Bird.
While chatting with PEOPLE in 2021, she shared some insight into her father-daughter bond with the Oscar nominee, saying, “We’re always working together in one way or another.”
“Whether it’s me calling him being like, ‘How do I do this? I need help,’ or him helping me with audition tapes. There’s a real network of communication there,” said Maya. “I really see him as my teacher more than almost anything else.”