Background and career
John Hawkes (born September 11, 1959) is an American actor. He is the recipient of two Independent Spirit Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. Hawkes is known for his roles in the films Winter's Bone (2010) and The Sessions (2012). For the former, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, respectively. Some of his other film credits include From Dusk till Dawn (1996), The Perfect Storm (2000), Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), American Gangster (2007), Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), Lincoln (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). He has also appeared in many television series, notably Deadwood (2004–2006) and Eastbound & Down (2009–2013), as well as the fourth season of True Detective (2024).
Hawkes is the son of Patricia Jeanne (née Olson) and Peter John "Pete" Perkins, a farmer of wheat, corn, hogs and cattle. He was raised in Alexandria, Minnesota, a "pastoral, small city... a midwest Scandinavian community", and graduated from Jefferson High School. He moved to Austin, Texas, where he was a member of the bands Meat Joy, with Gretchen Phillips, and King Straggler, with fellow actors Rodney Eastman and Brentley Gore.
His first film role was in Future-Kill (1985), credited as John Perkins. He changed his stage name to John Hawkes because there was another actor named John Perkins. Hawkes played the role of Greg Penticoff in season 1 of 24. From 2004 to 2006, Hawkes played merchant Sol Star on the HBO series Deadwood. He portrayed Dustin Powers, brother of protagonist Kenny Powers, on all four seasons of the HBO series Eastbound & Down, and played Lennon on ABC's Lost. His other film roles include Me and You and Everyone We Know, The Perfect Storm, American Gangster, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Lincoln. In 2011, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Winter's Bone, as well as for a number of other awards, including the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role. He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male. Also in 2011, Hawkes was honored with a Rising Star Award by the Texas Film Hall of Fame. Hawkes was offered the role of The Governor in AMC's horror-drama series The Walking Dead. He turned it down feeling he was not the right fit for the role. The role eventually went to David Morrissey. In 2012, the film The Sessions was considered one of the Sundance breakout hits of that year. Hawkes received two prolonged standing ovations at the film's screening. It was praised by critics at the festival as "accessible, enjoyable, and light-hearted". In 2016, it was announced that Hawkes would star in the Amazon pilot The Legend of Master Legend, which is based on the popular real-life superhero Master Legend. Along with cast members, Hawkes expressed interest in reprising his role as Sol Star in a proposed Deadwood film. Deadwood: The Movie began production in October 2018, and premiered on May 31, 2019. Hawkes, along with virtually the entire series cast, took part in it. Hawkes had a small role as a robber in the music video for the cover version of the song "Crying in the Rain" by A-ha in 1990. In the fourth season of the television series True Detective: Night Country (2024) he played a leading role and sang the song No Use, which he wrote, in episode 5 accompanied by an acoustic guitar.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
