Maya Hawke is on the rise, there’s no doubt about it. The actress who found breakout success on Netflix’s flagship sci-fi adventure series, Stranger Things, has only gotten into more and more prestigious roles ever since her introduction in season 3. With Stranger Things season 5 on the horizon, and other projects, it’s time to take a look at Maya’s very best film and TV roles.
The daughter of movie stars Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, Maya is no stranger to working with her own parents at times. Specifically, Maya is the star of a film that was directed by her father, Wildcat, about the author Flannery O’Connor, which recently debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival. Maya is also set to star alongside her mother in the forthcoming thriller The Kill Room. If that weren’t enough, she will appear in Bradley Cooper’s highly anticipated biopic romance Maestro, playing the titular Leonard Bernstein’s daughter, Jamie.
While we’re excited about all three of those movies, they haven’t gotten wide theatrical releases yet, so don’t expect to see any of them on our list. We will only be counting movies and shows that are already out in the wild. We will also be giving a stronger weight in our rank to movies and shows where Hawke has a main role, rather than playing a one-off guest appearance, cameo, or background character. Hawke is also a prolific musician who stars in her own music videos, is active in podcasts, and stars in many short films, however, we’ll be excluding those creative pursuits for the purposes of our list. With that said, let’s rank the top Maya Hawke movies and TV shows in ascending order.
8. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2023)
Representing Maya’s first foray into the world of voice acting, and Marvel, for that matter, is her role as the supervillain Abyss in the animated Disney superhero show Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur. Abyss has the ability to turn herself and others into vapor, which causes a lot of trouble for Casey, who steps in for one day as Moon Girl while Lunella takes a sick day. You can catch the entire adventure, in which Maya truly does hold her own in the realm of voice work, in season 1 episode 10 of the highly acclaimed Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, called “Moon Girl’s Day Off.” The series is available on the streaming platform Disney Plus and also broadcasts on the Disney Channel.
7. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an excellent movie by director Quentin Tarantino which would easily top any number of rank lists in another context. However, since this is a Maya Hawke-centric list, we do need to rank it closer to the bottom due to the actress having a very minor role in the movie, Flowerchild. Though she only makes a brief appearance, it is an impactful one as she makes a strong impression as a would-be Charles Manson zealot who hilariously chickens out on the attempted murder of Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate at the last minute, leaving her other cult followers high and dry and without a ride.
6. The Good Lord Bird (2020)
The Good Lord Bird is another high-quality title that also serves as Maya Hawke’s first creative collaboration with her father, Ethan Hawke, who is the creator and star of the Showtime miniseries based on James McBride’s novel of the same name. A historical drama that traces the adventures of abolitionist John Brown and his escaped slave companion, Joshua Caleb Johnson’s Henry “Onion” Shackleford. Maya guest stars in episode 5 of the series as Annie Brown, the girl who becomes the love interest of Onion despite the former slave being disguised as a girl himself, for protection, when they first meet. Maya brings an emotional heart to the chapter, and arguably the entire series even though it is just for the one episode, that fans won’t soon forget thanks to Annie and Onion’s bond over music, among other touching scenes.
5. Fear Street: Part One – 1994 (2021)
Fear Street: Part One – 1994 meddles with fan expectations when it comes to Maya Hawke being a top-billed actress for Netflix’s horror homage to the Nirvana decade, thanks to her then-new-found fame from Stranger Things. With that said, it’s still an enjoyable love letter to the films of Wes Craven and Sam Raimi, among others, that brings with it a unique LGBTQ2IA perspective. Don’t expect the wheel to get reinvented here, but any fan of Maya or Stranger Things would likely find a lot to like with this movie.
4. Asteroid City (2023)
Director Wes Anderson’s take on an alien visitation is the premise of Asteroid City, which brings together a typical ensemble cast of which Maya Hawke is a part. This is the kind of movie where there are no small roles as it is all about the delight in watching the various characters operating in their own worlds and portrayed by huge names — including Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, and Edward Norton. Of note is the way Hawke gets to stretch her comedy and improvisational muscles in the movie since one scene, in particular, requires her to make up a dance with co-star Rupert Friend, as CinemaBlend reported. You have to be able to swallow Anderson’s unique blend of dry humor and diorama-like cinematography to fully enjoy the experience, but Asteroid City will reward you if you do.
3. Little Women (2017)
Two years before Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-winning 2019 version of Little Women went to movie theaters, a miniseries adaptation for PBS’ Masterpiece came to TV screens. Though 2017’s Little Women, which consists of three episodes, is considered inferior to the movie version by many, it is still widely beloved by fans and critics for the most part. That is in no small part to Maya’s pitch-perfect performance as Jo March who plays off a star-studded line-up of her sister characters that include Kathryn Newton’s Amy March, Willa Fitzgerald’s Meg March, and Annes Elwy’s Beth March.
2. Do Revenge (2022)
When a popular girl in high school, Camila Mendes’ Drea, finds she is being just as harshly bullied as an outcast new kid, Maya Hawke’s Eleanor, the two form a secret friendship to get revenge on the other person’s tormentor. That is the premise behind Do Revenge, Netflix’s 2022 film that finally puts Maya deservedly front and center in a leading co-protagonist role. The film is also a crowd-pleaser as it operates in the same vein as the classic teen revenge movies it pays homage to, such as Mean Girls and 10 Things I Hate About You.
1. Stranger Things (2019-present)
All these years later, Stranger Things still represents Maya Hawke’s finest role to date. As one of the older kids in the group who must battle the evil and supernatural forces of The Upside Down, Maya was an instant fan favorite when her character, Robin, was introduced in season 3 as a Scoops Ahoy employee at Starcourt Mall. One of the high watermarks of Maya’s debut season was the formation of her bond with her co-worker, Joe Keery’s Steve Harrington. Rather than going the stereotypical love interest route, Steve and Robin’s relationship became solidified as one of TV’s greatest best-friend duos.
To the delight of fans, Robin, who is one of two gay main characters in the show, would have an expanded role in Stranger Things season 4 as she and Steve got new jobs at Family Video. Robin would later investigate the origins of the mysterious new Vecna threat alongside Steve’s ex, Natalia Dyer’s Nancy Wheeler. Suffice it to say, we’re extremely excited to see where Robin’s story goes next when Stranger Things’ 5th and final season comes to Netflix in the not-too-distant future.
In the meantime, you can catch Maya and her mom, Uma Thurman, in the new thriller The Killl Room in theaters on Sept. 29.