In the distant year of 2002, a young Ethan Hawke received his first Oscar nomination. He competed for the Best Supporting Actor statuette for the film ‘Training Day’ (2001), but lost the award to Jim Broadbent, who was nominated for his work in ‘Iris’ (2001).
Hawke, however, didn’t even have time to be sad. He received advice from a movie figure, Denzel Washington — with whom he starred in the film that earned them Academy recognition.
In a recent appearance on the program ‘Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?’, the actor was asked about what he heard from Washington during the ceremony. In a whisper, Washington reportedly said, “It’s better you didn’t win. Losing is better.”
“You don’t want a prize to make your status better. You’re the one who should improve a prize’s status. That’s how he thinks,” Hawke explained. “The Academy Awards have more value because Denzel won two. The award didn’t elevate who he was.”
Earlier, in the same interview, Ethan compared Washington to American baseball icon Babe Ruth, as “he is the best actor of our generation.”
“The experience I started to have every day acting with Denzel, you know. His imagination is so complete,” the actor added. “I imagine it would be interesting to see how Babe Ruth tied his shoes, what he thought about pitchers. Once you see a person working that way, it’s like an entry into all these other environments that you can explore in the profession. It was very It’s inspiring for me to see my profession performed at that level.”
Hawke has received three other Oscar nominations since the 2002 edition. He competed again for the Best Supporting Actor award for ‘Boyhood: From Childhood to Youth’ (2014). On two other occasions, he competed for the Best Adapted Screenplay statuette for his contributions to ‘Before Sunset’ (2004) and ‘Before Midnight’ (2013).
“I was at the Oscars sitting next to Denzel Washington, nominated in the same category as Ian McKellen,” Hawke reflected. “I had already won. It was impossible to see it any other way.”
Check out the trailer for ‘Training Day’ below, Denzel Washington receiving the Oscar for Best Actor for the film and Ethan Hawke losing Best Supporting Actor to Jim Broadbent (‘Iris’).
