A day before presenting Hawke with a special tribute at 2016 Gotham Independent Film Awards, Winona attended a special screening of his film “Born to Be Blue” in New York. To Variety, she gushed about being proud of him, and about presenting him the award.

He is unparalleled in his vulnerability and intimacy as an actor, and it’s his performance in this film that is honestly, truly mind-blowing. It’s incredibly special to me because he means a lot to me as a friend and an actor. These are things that are often said about actors when they’re praising actors, but I really, honestly, from the bottom of my heart mean it. I just love him in a very, very deep way and I’m very excited for him.