Quotes from John Hawkes

'The New York Times' thing... I think any actor would be thrilled to be profiled in that paper.

When I over-prepare, I try to let it all go and forget all about it when the camera rolls, so I can just be present with the other actors and allow what's going to happen to happen without too much preconception.

I have to be careful of what TV shows I choose, particularly ones that have commercials in them, because it's going to be a different kind of television show.

A lot of times, you just don't get the jobs you want to get.

I went to a performance of 'The Crucible' at the Guthrie when I was a sophomore in high school, and I knew right away that that's what I wanted to do.

I think we're all mysteries to ourselves.

Even the small amount of infamy I have makes me uncomfortable - on a personal level and on a professional level.

I'd said to my sweetheart a couple of days before that the SAG and Spirit Award nomination was amazing and I had no attachment to the Academy Award. I knew I was an underdog so I just decided to sleep through the announcement.

I understand why people achieve a level of fame and disappear, I never understood it before, but it's an attractive prospect to walk away from it all.

People have said unkind things and you kind of have to, if you happen to read it, you have to just, you know, move on.

As an actor, I think a mistake that any storyteller can make is to play the ending.

When you're just starting out, and someone you think is a real storyteller says something good about you, that helps.

I generally play strong people and scary people.

I don't have any training as an actor, but I guess I'm an intense pretender. When you read something over and over, it gets into you a little bit. You can't help but begin to feel it, even if you're a healthy person as I think I am.

Part of the way that I work is to observe.

I'm just looking for the best story being told by the best people and the best part that I can find. If those things add up, I want to be a part of it whether it's a studio film or, more likely in that instance, an independent film.

The only thing I do on a computer is play Texas Hold 'Em, really. Obviously my cell phone is a computer. My car is a computer. I'm on computers every day without actively seeking them out.

As an actor, you don't often get a chance to know exactly the impact of what the audience is seeing, even though you can ask where the frame is. A move that feels tiny can be huge, and vice versa.

I lived in Texas for 10 years. There were a lot of people chewing, including my dad.

I want people to believe me when I play a part and they are less apt to if they know a lot about me and have associations about me.

If you're telling a story it's always best not to play the ending.

I don't mean to be highfalutin about it, but I try to limit my visibility.

My fear now is of cliche, of complacency, of not being able to feel authenticity in myself and those around me.