Ethan Hawke wants to be immortal.

The 51-year-old actor – who got his big break in 1989’s ‘Dead Poets Society’ – hopes to live forever because he doesn’t want to ever “leave this life”, admitting his main “goal” is “immortality”.

Quizzed about whether he has ever thought how he wants to leave this life, he said: “First off, I don’t want to leave this life. I plan on immortality … that’s my goal.

“Actual permanent life. My favourite Willie Nelson quote is, ‘I don’t go to funerals and I definitely won’t go to mine.’ “

The ‘Moon Knight’ actor admitted that if he does one day meet his maker then he hopes the Toronto International Film Festival will honour his work for 10 years.

He joked: “After I’m gone, the Toronto International Film Festival should be, I think, for about 10 years, dedicated to my work.”

But Ethan – who has children Maya, 24, and Levon, 20, with ex-wife Uma Thurman, and Clementine, 14, and Indiana, 11, with spouse Ryan Hawke – insisted the most important thing in life is to forge good relationships with those who are closest to you, because they are the ones that “really matter”.

When it is suggested to him that it is kind of immortality being in a film forever and asked what his kids think, he added to the Radio Times magazine: “All joking aside …. we’re all building sandcastles, and some of the sandcastles get knocked down sooner than others.

“I made this documentary, ‘The Last Movie Stars’, about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. And my biggest lesson from that was the greatest impact you have on people is the people who love you.

“Those are the relationships that really matter.”

Last year, Ethan admitted he was “trying to stay alive” in the film industry.

He said: “I’ve just always put one foot in front of the other, just trying to keep moving. Sometimes I feel like a cat, you know, just trying to stay alive.”