NEW YORK, NY.- The New York Public Library has elected actor, writer, director, and four-time Academy Award® nominee Ethan Hawke to its Board of Trustees.

Hawke, a long-time supporter of the Library who co-founded its Young Lions Fiction Award, was made a voting member of the Board at last night’s Trustees meeting at the 115th Street Library in Harlem. His tenure begins immediately.

"To me, The New York Public Library is a holy place,” said Hawke. “It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I accept their invitation to join the board."

“Ethan has been an important part of The New York Public Library family for years, leading our Young Lions organization and co-founding its prestigious Fiction Award,” said NYPL Board of Trustees Chairman Evan Chesler. “A wonderful actor, Ethan is an even better person who has made significant contributions to help strengthen and support this great institution. We know that he will continue to shine in his latest role as a member of the Library’s Board, with New Yorkers continuing to benefit from his dedication and strong performance.”

Hawke – who was named a Library Lion in 2010 and co-chaired the Young Lions Committee for many years – is a stage and film actor best-known for his roles in Training Day, Boyhood, Dead Poets Society, and Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in Training Day and Boyhood, and was also twice-nominated for writing (best adapted screenplay) for Before Sunset and Before Midnight.

His recent films include 2015’s Born to Be Blue, in which he plays jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, and in 2014 he directed Seymour: An Introduction, a documentary about the concert pianist Seymour Bernstein. He will next be seen in The Magnificent Seven opposite Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt. Hawke has appeared in several Broadway productions, including Tom Stoppard’s “Coast of Utopia” for which he received a Tony Award nomination, and Lincoln Center’s “Macbeth.” Hawke is also the author of two novels, The Hottest State, which was made into a film, and Ash Wednesday. His newest book, 2015’s Rules for a Knight, takes the form of a letter from Sir Thomas Lemuel Hawke, a 15th-century ancestor of Hawke’s, to his children. He also co-authored the graphic novel Indeh: A Story of the Apache Wars with Greg Ruth, which will release on June 7, 2016.