While speaking with ET Canada’s Sangita Patel about the Canadian premiere of his new drama “Maudie” at the Toronto International Film Festival, Ethan Hawke was full of praise for “Stranger Things” star Winona Ryder.

“That show is really brilliant and Winona is really brilliant,” the Texan-born actor, writer and director told Patel of his 1994 “Reality Bites” co-star. “As somebody speaking from Generation X […] I love to see Winona kicking a** and taking names. She’s one of the great talents of my generation.”

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While Hawke had nothing but admiration for Ryder and the Netflix-original show, it was his eldest daughter Maya – whom he shares with actress Uma Thurman – that he couldn’t help but show his fatherly pride.

“I didn’t need any campaign to make me feel that sense of pride,” the father of four said of his 18-year-old daughter, who recently became the face of British brand All Saints. “My daughter is a serious, young woman and the funny thing is that whatever she ends up doing with her life, it’s going to be interesting.”

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When asked if his daughter ever asks him about fame, he said, “She doesn’t need to ask me about that.” Hawke went on, “So much of what we teach our kids isn’t what we say, it’s how we live our life,” adding, “If you show them what it’s like to love what you do, then you don’t need to talk about it.”