Though Ethan Hawke played an important part in Dead Poets Society back in 1989, we never would have expected him to drop such poignant advice as the tidbit he shared with reporter Amelia Dimoldenberg on the Oscars red carpet this year.
Hawke was nominated for his recent role in Blue Moon, and Dimoldenberg focused most of her questions on the movie, his hairdo and position in a wheelchair in the film, and the people he worked with.
But the question and answer that really blew viewers away came at the end of their segment together.
Since Blue Moon is a biographical comedy-drama about the lyricist Lorenz Hart, who dealt repeatedly with unrequited love, Dimoldenberg pointed out Hart's struggles with having a broken heart and asked Hawke if he had any advice for the people out there who might be going through the same heartache.
Hawke wowed everyone when he offered:
"The one who's in love always wins."
"It doesn't matter if you get your heart broken; you're living, and when you're living, you're alive."
"You know, the sun doesn't care whether the grass appreciates its rays, right? It just keeps on shining."
"That's you."
Dimoldenberg was clearly touched by Hawke's response and quipped that she might have to get part of his response as a tattoo.
You can watch the moment here:
The internet was taken aback; some were touched, and others were surprised by the depth of Hawke's advice.
Now viral on X and Instagram, viewers have been stuck in their feels.
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Not only was Hawke's response incredibly touching, but it felt like a weirdly cyclical moment with his role in Dead Poets Society, which largely put him on the map.
In the film, the late Robin Williams, as Professor John Keating, says that while medicine, law, business, and engineering are "noble pursuits" and "necessary to sustain life," the things that are actually worth living for are "poetry, beauty, romance, and love."
Finding out that Hawke encourages people to be grateful for feeling love and even for feeling the pain of unrequited love—both signs of being alive—would surely make both Williams and Keating proud.
