MovieMaker Spring 2003
Flash Forward
Light Years From Lake Wobegon
Still seeking the spotlight, John Hawkes shines in his underdog roles
Alexandria, Minnesota and Los Angeles, California, but the distance actor
John Hawkes has traveled from the "Lake Wobegon" upbringing to
Hollywood could probably be measured in light years.
After a year of college at Minnesota's St. Cloud State University, Hawkes fell prey to the pull of the encroaching youth counterculture. "I saw Harold & Maude, listened to Tom Waits and read On the Road and just decided---all at once---to get out of there." With him, Hawkes took the acting skills he learned in high school and began honing them in theaters---and passenger seats---across the country. "When I left college I hitchhiked thousands of miles, and that was an amazing journey, because you had to convince the people who were giving you rides that they actually wanted you in the car with them."
Hawkes eventually disembarked in Austin, Texas, where he remained for almost a decade. In addition to forming a theater company (Big State Productions), it was here that he was cast in his first film role---at least "the first one that I'll talk about." he laughs. He played Brad Davis' son in Percy Adlon's Rosalie Goes Shopping.
Since then, Hawkes has built a career on identifying with a series of big screen underdogs, most famously as "Bugsy," the lovesick sea dog in Wolfgang Peterson's The Perfect Storm. This spring (2003), Hawkes brings new life to the movie misfit archetype in his role as "Larry," the cagey motel manager in James Mangold's ensemble thriller Identity. "Larry is a classic underdog," says Hawkes. "He's someone who is ill equipped in many ways, but he's doing the best he can and I love that in people."
Next up, Hawkes will revisit a lawless South Dakota town at the time of the gold rush in the new HBO series, Deadwood. Though he's happy to play the "sidekick" to Timothy Olyphant, Hawkes is still waiting for his chance to embrace the spotlight, and "shine as much as I know I can---and want to."
---Jennifer M. Wood
Photo by Laura Wagner/Shooting Star
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