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Ethan Hawke

The big focus

in actor Ethan Hawke's life right now is "having to deal with a pregnant woman" - his partner Uma Thurman.

The couple fell in love while making the sci-fi movie Gattaca.

He says: "She's very intelligent, she's six feet tall and she's beautiful, so she's intimidating when you meet her. Once you know her she's incredibly fair and kind as well."

Despite his domestic responsibilities, Hawke has been busy at work - he has three films to his name this year.

As well as Gattaca, he co-stars with Gwyneth Paltrow in a loose, modern adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. Later this year he plays a true-life Depression-era bank robber in The Newton Boys.

"I guess she's changed my whole life."

Imminent fatherhood has changed his life, though, making him more aware of his celebrity.

Hawke says of his relationship with Uma Thurman: "I guess she's changed my whole life. It's like some kind of dream dance."

Pulp Fiction star Uma brought him mainstream fame when they got together. Before they met on Gattaca he was just another Hollywood star brat.

He says: "I certainly have a very weird life. It's strange to have people come up to you in the street and say, 'Hey, congratulations on the new baby.'"

They avoid Hollywood socialising to preserve their privacy. He says: "It's not the best way to connect with the real world."

Hawke now has pin-up status. He says: "I'm trying not to be vain, but one thing that excited me was being asked to do the Rolling Stone magazine cover.

"I'd allowed myself to have big expectations."

"But when I saw the cover, it felt so ridiculous. It upset me how it turned out because I'd allowed myself to have big expectations.

"Sometimes fame can make you feel very important. Eventually it turns on you. It's a dangerous place to be."

Hawke has acted since he was 13. He appeared with the late River Phoenix in a little-seen movie called Explorers.

Last year he completed his first novel, a black-humoured coming-of-age story, The Hottest State. He took two years off from acting to write it.

Critics were not kind. He says: "A lot of people missed the point. They thought I was doing it to earn respect. I wanted to keep writing so I faced the demon early. I will write again."