Ethan Hawke: 'I Had No Business Taking Vows' With Uma Thurman

By Michael Rothman August 19, 2013

(Photo Credit: Vera Anderson/WireImage/Getty Images)

Ethan Hawke, 42, may have passed on some wisdom to his tabloid magnet co-star Selena Gomez, 21, while filming "Getaway," but through experience, he doesn't think it stuck.

"Young people always think their problems are so unique," Hawke told Elle for its September issue. "I know I felt that way."

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In fact, he told the magazine that he wishes he'd taken on more sage advice around the time of his marriage to Uma Thurman, 43, which ended almost a decade ago.

"Success when you're young is really overwhelming," he added. "I thought marriage would decrease my variables or something. I was absolutely wrong … I had no business taking vows that would last more than two weeks."
The "Training Day" star actually thinks people like perennial bachelor Derek Jeter, who are honest about their situation, have the best chance at happiness.

"He lives his life like, "Hey man, I play shortstop for the New York Yankees. And I'm not going to get married until I'm no longer a shortstop for the New York Yankees,"" Hawke said. "Which is incredibly smart."

Hawke added that he really learned about himself through his failed marriage to Thurman, which helps his relationship the second time around with wife Ryan Hawke, whom he married in 2008.
"Until you know yourself, you don't know how to share your life with another person," he said.