The Early Show

Ethan Hawke, The Author

By Rome Neal

July 22, 2002 / 2:11 PM EDT / CBS

Ethan Hawke has had a busy year. He was nominated for his first supporting actor academy award for "Training Day." He also directed his first feature film.

And now, he has released his second novel, "Ash Wednesday."

Hawke visited The Early Show to discuss his new book.

"Ash Wednesday" tells the story of Jimmy Heartstock and his girlfriend of 18 months, Christy, and their lives in Albany, N.Y. The book begins the morning after they have broken up.

Jimmy, who is in the Army, has been assigned by his lieutenant to inform the family of a fellow soldier that he's been shot in the head outside of a bar. Jimmy has spent the night doing drugs, crystal meth. After he informs the soldier's mother and she throws him out of her house, he realizes what a mistake it was breaking up with Christy, his one true love.

Most Americans would recognize Hawke from his acting performance in movies. He made his feature film debut in 1985 at the age of 14 in the science-fiction film "Explorers." Since then, Hawke has established a career not only in film, but also in theater, and as a writer and a film director. Hawke studied acting, through Princeton's prestigious McCarter Theater, eventually landing his first professional job in the theater's performance of St. Joan.

Hawke's second big movie was in "Dead Poets Society." He then went on to star in "Dad," "White Fang," "Rich in Love," "Waterland," "A Midnight Clear," "Alive," "Reality Bites," "Before Sunrise," and numerous other projects. Hawke's first novel, "The Hottest State," was published in 1996

FAST FACTS ON ETHAN HAWKE

Ethan Hawke was born in Austin, Texas, in 1970.
His parents divorced when Hawke was 3 years old. He moved with mother, making stops in Vermont, Georgia and New York before eventually settling in West Windsor, N.J. when she remarried when he was 10.
Hawke made his feature acting debut in Joe Dante's "Explorers" in 1985.
Hawke published his first novel, "The Hottest State" in 1996.
In 1997 he starred in the sci-fi thriller "Gattaca" with Uma Thurman, his future wife.
The writer/actor made his feature-film directorial debut in 2002 with "Chelsea Walls", based on Dylan Thomas' "Under Milkwood"; it starred wife Uma Thurman.
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