Waking Life
A disoriented young man drifts through an endless lucid dream, desperate to grasp the true nature of reality before his consciousness dissolves into infinite philosophical uncertainty.
“Dreams. What are they? An escape from reality or reality itself?”
Synopsis
*Waking Life* follows a young man who finds himself in a continuous, lucid dream-like state. Throughout the film, the protagonist first observes and then becomes involved in a series of philosophical conversations that explore themes such as reality, free will, interpersonal relationships, and the meaning of life.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 63+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Sandra AdairShot by Richard LinklaterScored by Glover Gill
Box Office
2001 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.6× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$3.2M
Opening week (7-day): $147K
Peak 4 theaters
Also known as
- Despertando a la vidaes
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Cast & Crew
63 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Ethan Hawke
as Jesse
Trevor Jack Brooks
as Young Boy Playing Paper Game
Julie Delpy
as Celine
Lorelei Linklater
as Young Girl Playing Paper Game
Wiley Wiggins
as Main Character
Bill Wise
as Boat Car Guy
Glover Gill
as Accordion Player
Alex E Jones
as Man in Car with P.A.
Lara Hicks
as Violin Player
Steven Soderbergh
as Interviewed on Television
Ames Asbell
as Viola Player
Ken Webster
as Bartender
Supporting cast
45Leigh Mahoney
as Viola Player
Charles Gunning
as Angry Man in Jail
Sara Nelson
as Cello Player
Jeanine Attaway
as Piano Player
Erik Grostick
as Bass Player
Robert C Solomon
as Philosophy Professor
Kim Krizan
as Self
Eamonn Healy
as Shape-Shifting Man
J C Shakespeare
as Burning Man
David Sosa
as Self
Otto Hofmann
as Self
Aklilu Gebrewold
as Self
Carol Dawson
as Coffee Shop Chatter
Lisa Moore
as Coffee Shop Chatter
Steve Fitch
as Chimpanzee
Louis Mackey
as Self
Alex Nixon
as Man Writing a Novel at the Bar
Kelly Rebecca Nichols
as Woman Talking to the Novel Writer (as Violet Nichols)
Steven Prince
as Man Talking to the Bartender
Mary Mcbay
as Woman on TV
Kregg A Foote
as Man on TV
Jason T Hodge
as Man with the Long Hair
Guy Forsyth
as Self
John Christensen
as Guy Talking about Turning the Light on in Dreams
Caveh Zahedi
as Self
David Jewell
as Man Talking to Caveh
Adam Goldberg
as One of Four Men
Nicky Katt
as One of Four Men
Jason Liebrecht
as One of Four Men
Brent Green
as One of Four Men
Rc Whittaker
as Man on the Lamppost
Hymie Samuelson
as Mr. Debord
David Martinez
as Man on the Train
Ryan Power
as Self / Young Disappearing Guy
Tiana Hux
as Soap Opera Woman
Timothy Speed Levitch
as Self
Steve Brudniak
as Goatee Man
Marta Banda
as Friendly Girl
Charles Murdock
as Old Man
Mona Lee Fultz
as Quiet Woman at Restaurant
Edith Mannix
as Older Artist in the Park
Bess Cox
as Old Woman Sitting for a Portrait
Louis Black
as Kierkegaard Disciple
Richard Linklater
as Pinball Playing Man / Man on Back of Boat
Kierstin Cunnington
as Goth Girl (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
4Other crew
5Parents Guide
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