Actor Ethan Hawke has opened up about his marriage to Uma Thurman, insisting he was "absolutely wrong" to settle down before reaching his 30s.

The Reality Bites star is adamant he wasn't ready to make a lifelong commitment to Thurman as they walked down the aisle in 1998 when he was 27 years old.

Hawke, now aged 42, tells America's Elle magazine, "Success when you're young is really overwhelming. The world felt out of control. And I wanted to stop it from spinning so fast. I thought marriage would decrease my variables or something. I was absolutely wrong.

"There was this discovery that the male brain isn't done until 28. I definitely think my frontal lobe was not finished. I had no business taking vows that would last more than two weeks."

The dad-of-four wishes he had enjoyed his single years like American baseball star Derek Jeter, who has been linked to A-list beauties including Jessica Biel, Mariah Carey, Jordana Brewster, and Minka Kelly.

Hawke adds, "My personal opinion? The guy who's got it right is Derek Jeter. He lives his life like, 'Hey man, I play shortstop for the New York Yankees. And I'm not going to get married until I'm no longer a shortstop for the New York Yankees.' Which is incredibly smart."

Hawke, who has daughter Maya and son Levon with Thurman, divorced the Kill Bill star in 2005, and he married second wife Ryan three years later (08). The couple has two daughters, Clementine Jane and Indiana.