Ethan Hawke insists it is 'crazy' to cast actors based on their social media following

Ethan Hawke has insisted that casting actors based on their social media following is "crazy".

During an appearance at the Berlin Film Festival this week, the veteran actor spoke out about actors being cast based on how many Instagram followers they have.

Speaking to the press, the Dead Poets Society star revealed that he has come across the phenomenon in the film industry.

"Sometimes I'll be setting a movie up and someone will say, 'Oh, you should cast Suzie.' I'm like, 'Who is she?' 'She has 10 million followers,'" Ethan explained, "I'm like, 'OK cool, has she acted before?' 'No, but...' And you're like, 'Wow, so this is going to help me get the movie made? This is crazy.'"

He continued, "So if I don't have this public-facing (platform), I don't have a career? And if I get more followers I might get that part? What?"

The 54-year-old's comments come days after his actress daughter Maya Hawke, 26, revealed she had been warned by directors not to delete her social media accounts - as it could affect her future work.

She said during a recent episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, "They're like, 'Just so you know, when I'm casting a movie with some producers, they hand me a sheet with the amount of collective followers I have to get of the cast that I cast so if you delete your Instagram, and I lose those followers, understand that these are the kinds of people that I need to cast around you.'"

Ethan is currently promoting his new film Blue Moon, which premiered at the film festival on Tuesday.