The Cringeworthy Way Ethan Hawke Turned Down 'Independence Day'

Lee Moran

Embarrassing stories about turning down huge movie roles may be a dime a dozen among Hollywood stars.

But this tale involving actor Ethan Hawke is a real doozy.

Hawke revealed on Monday’s broadcast of “Conan” that he dismissed appearing in “Independence Day” in the most cocky way — by throwing its script out of a car window and onto a Texas highway during a road trip with a pal.

“I’m such a big shot, I think I’m so cool,” Hawke told host Conan O’Brien.

Karma later came back around for the “Training Day” star, however, when he went to see the movie with his then-girlfriend — and they watched Will Smith totally nail a line that he’d earlier dismissed as stupid.

The 1996 action sc-fi film went on to gross $817 million worldwide, according to IMDB.

Check out the clip above.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.