It’s Absurd That Ethan Hawke Didn’t Get an Oscar Nomination for This Brilliant 2010s Drama
Ethan Hawke deserved an Oscar nomination for his role as Reverend Toller in Paul Schrader’s 2018 film, First Reformed. For more than 30 years, Hawke has been a versatile actor across various genres and production scales, consistently delivering strong performances.
A Versatile Actor with a Rich Career
Hawke is a classic everyman with a sophisticated edge, blending character actor depth with leading man presence. His recent work in 2025, including Black Phone 2 and Richard Linklater's Blue Moon, highlights his range—from horror villain to auteur-driven protagonist. Over decades, especially through Linklater's Before trilogy, Hawke has evolved remarkably as an actor.
First Reformed: A Career-Best Role
In First Reformed, Hawke portrays a troubled pastor in upstate New York, delivering a performance charged with simmering rage and haunted intensity. Working closely with director Paul Schrader, known for deep psychological character studies, Hawke's portrayal is widely regarded as one of the finest of the 2010s.
"He was rudely snubbed of an Oscar nomination despite proverbially setting the screen on fire with his simmering rage and haunted aura he provides to one of the 2010s' finest films."
Paul Schrader’s Recognition and the Oscar Snub
While Schrader earned his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for the film, Hawke was shockingly overlooked. The film’s only nomination underscores the puzzling omission of Hawke’s powerful performance.
“Arguably even more confounding than Ethan Hawke's snubbing for First Reformed, the stirring psychological drama about the all-consuming fear of global apocalypse due to global warming was Paul Schrader's first nomination in his long and storied career."
Summary
Ethan Hawke’s dynamic and deeply affecting performance in First Reformed remains one of the most overlooked in recent Oscar history, despite the film’s critical acclaim and Schrader’s screenplay nomination.
Author’s Note
Ethan Hawke’s overlooked brilliance in First Reformed highlights the frequent disconnect between awards recognition and truly transformative acting performances.