John Hawkes

Graduate of Jefferson High School (Alexandria, Minnesota), 1977.

Additional feature credits include the Lion's Gate film, A Slipping-Down Life (1999) with Guy Pearce, the psychological thriller Identity (2003) alongside John Cusack and Ray Liotta, Miami Vice (2006) with Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell, Playing God (2004), The Perfect Storm (2000), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and Hardball (1997).

Hawkes also starred in and co-produced the independent film, Buttleman (2003), for which he received a Breakout Performance Award at the 2004 Sedona Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Deep Ellum Film Festival.

When Hawkes was cast as Sol Star, a Jewish merchant, on Deadwood (2004), he frankly told the show's creator, David Milch, upon their first meeting, that there was one catch: "I'm not Jewish". "David asked me, 'Have you ever felt shame or sadness or ostracized?' I said, 'Every day.' And David said, 'Then you're Jewish.'".

John Hawkes was born John Marvin Perkins in Alexandria, Minnesota, to Patricia Jeanne (Olson) and Peter John Perkins, a farmer. He is of Scandinavian and British Isles descent. John moved to Austin, Texas to begin his career as an actor and musician. He co-founded the Big State Productions Theatre Company and appeared in the group's original play, "In the West", at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C. He took on the stage name "John Hawkes" because another actor shared his birth name, John Perkins. John starred in the critically-acclaimed, Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), which received wide praise and was awarded the special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Camera d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Turned down the role of The Governor in the television series The Walking Dead (2010).

Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 10, 2011 in Austin, TX.

As of 2018, he has been in 3 films that were Oscar nominated for Best Picture: Winter's Bone (2010), Lincoln (2012), and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).