Ethan Hawke thinks casting actors based on the amount of their social media followers is ‘crazy’

CNN — It sounds like Ethan Hawke is aware that “Reality Bites” for today’s performers. At the Berlin Film Festival this week, the 54-year-old actor was asked if he was familiar with his daughter Maya Hawke’s recent comments about casting actors based on whether they have a large Instagram following. “I’m talking about deleting my Instagram and like, ‘Just so you know when I’m casting a movie with some producers, they hand me a sheet with the amount of collective followers I have to get from the cast,’” the younger Hawke said during a recent episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. This is crazy.’” The older Hawke was at the Berlin festival to premiere his latest collaboration with Richard Linklater, “Blue Moon.” Hawke said he’s encountered “so many young actors that think being an actor is protein shakes and going to the gym.” He said his actress daughter, who appears in “Stranger Things” and voiced Anxiety in “Inside Out 2,” has taught him a great deal about social media. “She’s like, ‘Dad, you need an Instagram account… That was a terrible post Dad, get rid of it,’” Hawke joked.