Ethan Hawke will be honored with the American Riviera Award at the 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Hawke will receive the award on Feb. 6 at an in-person conversation celebrating his remarkable career, culminating in his performance in “Blue Moon.”
Ethan Hawke will receive the American Riviera Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Feb. 6. Credit: Contributed photo
In the film, Hawke delivers one of the most transformative performances of his career as lyricist Lorenz Hart, earning his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his fifth Oscar nomination overall. The film marks his ninth collaboration with filmmaker Richard Linklater and has garnered widespread critical acclaim, along with BAFTA, SAG, Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Gotham Award nominations. The conversation will be moderated by TCM’s Dave Karger.
“Ethan is a greatly admired, versatile and risk-taking artist who has always gravitated toward complex roles. It has been a thrill over the past 40 years to watch this remarkable performer mature from a young heartthrob into one of America’s greatest character actors. In film, in theater, and as a director, Ethan is a powerhouse,” said SBIFF Executive Director Roger Durling.
The American Riviera Award was established to recognize actors who have made a significant contribution to American cinema. Previous recipients include Zoe Saldaña, Mark Ruffalo, Brendan Fraser, Kristen Stewart, Delroy Lindo, Renée Zellweger, Viggo Mortensen, Sam Rockwell, Jeff Bridges, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Patricia Arquette, Robert Redford, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening, Sandra Bullock, Mickey Rourke, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Bacon and Diane Lane.
Over the past four decades, Hawke has established himself as one of the most versatile and respected artists working today. An actor, writer, director and producer, he has earned five Academy Award nominations for both his performances and his screenwriting. He is also currently receiving strong reviews for his starring and executive producing role in FX’s “The Lowdown,” named one of AFI’s Television Programs of the Year.
Hawke’s expansive body of work includes acclaimed performances in “Training Day,” “Boyhood, First Reformed, Showtime’s limited series “The Good Lord Bird,” plus “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” “Gattaca,” “Reality Bites,” “Maudie,” “The Northman,” “Sinister,” “The Purge,” “The Black Phone,” “Leave the World Behind,” “Great Expectations,” “White Fang,” Marvel’s “Moon Knight,” Pedro Almodóvar’s short film “Strange Way of Life” and the celebrated “Before” trilogy (“Before Sunrise” and its sequels “Before Sunset” and “Before Midnight”), for which he received two writing Oscar nominations alongside his collaborators Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater.
As a filmmaker, he has directed the narrative features “Chelsea Walls,” “The Hottest State,” “Blaze and Wildcat,” as well as documentaries including “Seymour: An Introduction and The Last Movie Stars.” A Tony Award nominee for Tom Stoppard’s “The Coast of Utopia,” Hawke has maintained an active stage career alongside his film and television work and is also a best-selling author.
The 41st Santa Barbara International Film Festival will take place Feb. 4-14, 2026. Official events including screenings, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels and celebrity tributes will be held throughout the city, including at the historic Arlington Theatre and the new McHurley Film Center. Passes for the 2026 Festival are on sale now at sbiff.org.
Other recently announced tributes include Michael B. Jordan (Outstanding Performer of the Year Award), Adam Sandler (Maltin Modern Master Award), Stellan Skarsgård (Montecito Award), Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro (Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award), Kate Hudson (Arlington Artist of the Year Award), and the Virtuosos Award honoring Jacob Elordi, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Chase Infiniti, Amy Madigan, Wunmi Mosaku, Wagner Moura, Sydney Sweeney, Teyana Taylor and Jeremy Allen White.
Last year, the festival featured more than 200 films, including 33 world premieres and 74 U.S. premieres from 60 countries, and celebrated more than 50 Academy Award winners and nominees. A-list and industry guests will once again ascend to Santa Barbara, solidifying the festival as a must-stop on the awards circuit.
