Ethan Hawke, one of the stars of Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, says he'll very occasionally watch his actor pal Robert Sean Leonard -- they met on the 1989 film Dead Poet's Society -- in Leonard's hit Fox TV show House.

But in principle he's against it.

"I don't like him in the show because I want him to be doing something more challenging," Hawke told Sun Media yesterday. "I don't mind that he's doing a TV series, I just think that he's one of the great actors of my generation, and I feel like they're underusing him and I wish that he would quit.

"I know that everyone in my family loves that show, and I know that probably he's very smart. Nobody should follow my advice. I have no idea what the right thing to do is. I (just) want to see him do everything. I think he should be in the lead of Scorsese movies."

Hawke said he just got pitched his first TV show the other day but isn't sure the medium is for him.

"I'd be interested. I have no judgment about it. I just don't know if I could play the same character for five years. I like to do different things...

"I know Robert finds it incredibly stifling, you know, that you get offered some amazing play and you want to do it, or somebody approaches you about this independent movie, and you just can't do it."