Ethan Hawke told a funny story about his early career on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that showed how he used to compete with actor Billy Crudup. The 55-year-old star talked about how they were always competing for the same roles when they were younger, often auditioning one after the other.
Hawke said that Crudup was “so good” that it was annoying, so he had to wait outside audition rooms and listen first. He said that he had to turn down a Tom Stoppard play because he was busy with a movie, and that role went to Crudup, which made his career take off. Hawke joked that he sometimes wishes he could “go back in time, take the part, to stop his career,” which shows how close they are now.
In Hollywood, what began as competition has turned into respect for each other. Hawke’s story, which he told on Fallon’s show on February 4, 2026, shows how cutthroat the early days of acting were and how everyone could succeed. This comes after Hawke was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Lorenz Hart in a movie that came out in 2025.
