When did Ethan Hawke debut as actor? Oscar nominated star says celebrity is “poison” for young stars 

It's been more than three decades since Ethan Hawke played Todd Anderson in Dead Poets Society, a role that gave Hawke his jumpstart with fame. However, it was the 1985 movie Explorers that helped him debut as an actor in Hollywood. Ethan Hawke made his debut as a child actor at the age of 14 in Explorers.

Hawke recently sat down with Joe Rogan for his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, where he had a detailed conversation about art, fame, and the importance of staying true to your craft. Hawke called celebrity a “poison” for a young actor’s brain, sharing that,

“I think celebrity is like a tiny drop of mercury. Or it’s poison. It’s poison for your brain,”

They discussed Jodie Foster's career and how she achieved fame at a young age.

"I read every interview she does for exactly that reason. I have… It’s so difficult. I tell parents all the time, like children, acting is a wonderful thing. Put them in the school play. It’s so good for them. Get them singing lessons. It’s so good for them. Singing, the church choir, it’s so good for them," shared Ethan Hawke.

"But to be a professional actor at a young age is… It’s dangerous and in extremely insidious ways that are very, very hard to perceive when it’s happening. That’s a great way to put it," he added.

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How a movie premiere sent Ethan Hawke back to school and set up his comeback:

Ethan Hawke revealed in the podcast that while he starred in Explorers, the movie's release didn't line up with the image he had in his mind as a kid.

"But the movie came out, and I remember River and I going to the bathroom at the premiere. And we’d grown a lot from the time we shot the movie to the time it came out. And nobody in the bathroom really recognized us. And they were all talking about what a turkey the movie was, how terrible it was," shared Hawke.

"And I remember just looking in the eyes like it wasn’t the narrative we thought. We had bought into the dream that we were going to be whatever teen icon we were thinking of at the time. And it died a quick and salty death, my dream," he added.

This is where Ethan Hawke's acting trajectory transformed, compared to child actors who achieve fame at an extremely early stage. After receiving his reality check, Ethan Hawke went back to high school, where his dreams of being an actor were kept on hold. However, things did work out for him after graduation.

"And I graduated high school and I was off at college. And I heard about these auditions for a movie called “Dead Poets Society.” And I hated college. I was miserable. And I thought, “I’ll take the bus in and I’ll go on one of these open casting calls again,” shared Hawke.

"And if I get the part, this is what I decided. If I get the part, I’ll do that. If I don’t get the part, I’ll join the Merchant Marines and be like Jack London. That was my fantasy at the time," he added.

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Joe Rogan explains why becoming a child star can damage development:

While Ethan Hawke shared his success story with Dead Poets Society, Rogan shared his perspective that things worked out for the better.

"It’s probably a much better path than the first film being successful and you become a child star," shared Rogan.

Later in the podcast, Rogan expands on his perspective that achieving fame at a young age can be pretty harmful.

"I think it completely impedes your developmental process. The way I liken to is like concrete. When you make concrete, there’s a bunch of very specific ingredients. You put them with very specific mixture. Like, you have to have this amount of water, that amount of sand, this amount of rocks," explained Rogan.

"If it’s off, it’s never fixed. You can’t add water after it’s cured, it’s done. It’s f*ed forever. This is bad concrete now. And this is what happens to a lot of young human beings that become famous, whether it’s through acting or singing," added Rogan.

Ethan Hawke adds his understanding to Rogan's statements, sharing "that analogy works for all walks alike." Sharing that it’s hard to heal from a traumatic experience that makes a significant mark at an early stage. The conversation expands into Ethan Hawke building a resistance to fame because it came slowly to him.

"I think you going back to school and living a normal life for five, six years or whatever it was before you left college, I just think that’s critical. That’s the developmental process of the normal maturation of a person. When they go through adolescence, teenage years, into college, young adult, then you can kind of handle things. And then maybe you’re also fortunate that, like you said, “Dead Poets Society,” not, you know, you didn’t get too huge from it. You just got some juice," explained Joe Rogan.

In the end, Ethan Hawke shares that the "juice" helped him with his confidence and gives a shout-out to his mom for being patient with the whole process.