Before They Were Stars: John Hawkes in “From Dusk Till Dawn”

It’s “Oscar Nominees” week here on “Before They Were Stars” as I look at some of the earliest work from the fine actors and actresses who just received nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, and marvel at how far some of them have really come. One of the more surprising nominees this year was John Hawkes, a longtime character actor who received a “Best Supporting Actor” nod for his performance in Winter’s Bone. Of course, my earliest memory of the guy was seeing him as Pete the store clerk in the opening sequence of From Dusk Till Dawn. I’m sure many of you have probably seen this before, but the scene is so friggin’ AWESOME that I had to post it anyway! It’s also extra-funny to hear John Hawkes say the line: “Look, you asked me to act natural, I’m acting natural! In fact, under the circumstances, I think I oughta get a fuckin’ Academy Award for how natural I’m acting!”.