Sometimes it seems like simple things, such as letting your children have alone time, encouraging them in their pursuits, and not ruling anything out (such as getting on a train to do auditions in New York City as a high schooler) can be ingredients for success.

In a Wall Street Journal article, Hawke says that after taking an acting class on a lark in middle school (just because a friend was), he was soon asked to participate in a play at Princeton University. Soon after, he starting taking the train into New York City to do movie auditions. He says that his mother and stepfather encouraged him in his nascent acting career.

Hawke’s parents married young, had Ethan just a year later, and divorced three years after that. Hawke lived with his mother, who was single for a while, and they moved around quite a bit after the divorce. They lived in Brooklyn, New York for a stint before finally settling down in West Windsor, NJ. Hawke says his mother had a big heart and loved reading poetry, while his stepfather encouraged his acting.

Hawke also credits his mom for help making him independent minded, and for providing plenty of time and space for him to be alone and do things by himself, such as spend a lot of time at the movies.