Audi Canada welcomes Ethan Hawke for the 11th installment of its Innovation Series

Ethan Hawke featured at the eleventh installment of the Audi Innovation Series in Toronto, Canada – 11 Sept. 2023 (CNW Group/Audi Canada)

TORONTO — On September 11, 2023, Ethan Hawke was the featured speaker at the eleventh installment of the Audi Innovation Series. CBC’s Dwight Drummond moderates the second iteration this year for Audi Canada’s homegrown speaker series that focuses on individuals who have changed the world we live in through creativity and innovation.

“It’s very interesting that the whole act of faith is kind of an act of imagination,” said Hawke on the importance of human creativity. “If imagination and faith is real, then human creativity is kind of our way of joining the act of creation…. The world wasn’t really created – it’s creating. We are in creation right now and that human creativity, I’ve come to view, is nature manifest in us.”

Hawke, who made his film debut in 1985 and had an appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society, boasts a film acting career including titles such as Reality Bites, Gattaca, Training Day, and Boyhood. As a filmmaker, Hawke made his directorial debut in 2001 with his drama, Chelsea Walls. His latest film Wildcat, starring Maya Hawke as the Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor, premiered at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.

“My theory is that unfortunately you have to take a risk, and the funny thing is, fortunately, it’s really fun to take risks,” said Hawke. “If you are forgiving of yourself, you are actually in a win-win situation because if it doesn’t work out, you just learned a lot.”

“We are honoured to welcome an acclaimed and multitalented individual,” said Vito Paladino, President at Audi Canada. “Mr. Hawke has rightfully been recognized a multitude of times for his immense contribution to the arts and I’m thrilled to share his thoughts with Canadians on this eleventh installment of the Audi Innovation Series,” added Paladino.