Today we’d like to introduce you to Cole Hawkins.
Cole, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all started in 5th grade. I tried out for my school play, The King and I, and I got cast as Chulalongkorn. It was not the lead role, but it was enough to show me how much I loved the storytelling process. Every day in my theatre class we would run through rehearsals for the play. Day after day, the play started to piece together until we finally came to the performance days. After that play, I continued in school theatre for the years to follow doing one to two plays a year. Every play that I was lucky to be a part of only enhanced my passion for acting and inhabiting these worlds that we create in order to tell stories. I remember every second right before you walk on stage. When you’re thinking of your first line, and you’ve got the butterflies as you walk on for the first time. It’s the best feeling in the world. However, I had a myriad of decisions to make in the next couple of years.
After my sophomore year, I left my high school to take dual credit courses at a community college. I went to a small private school in Argyle, Texas, where we paid tuition and dual credit courses were not offered. I wanted to save money, get college credit, and eventually save myself time. Unfortunately, that meant that I would have to leave my life-long friends and that I would not have the chance to be a part of my school theatre. I took classes for a year, and I was able to get enough credits to graduate a year early. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study or where I wanted to go along with the majority of high school students, but I knew that I needed to simply go somewhere and try something.
Even if I didn’t enjoy where I was or what I was studying, I had to go try it or else I would never be able to distinguish what I wanted to do. I have had interests throughout my life as I continue my journey. There were four that always stood out to me: music, drawing, business, and acting. I play the piano, bass guitar, drums, and the guitar. Music has always been a passion of mine as most of my family plays many instruments. I love to draw and paint. I will go sit at coffee shops and draw anything that comes to my mind. I didn’t have much business experience before I went to college, which is why I studied Finance in college. My dad graduated from the business school at Baylor University, but that was the extent of my knowledge of the business world. None of these things, however, come close to how I feel when I inhabit the world of a film or play. I just didn’t know how plausible it would be to pursue a career as an actor. I didn’t have many connections in that field, I had been out of theatre for a year, and I didn’t live in an area that was prominent for acting.
So, I decided to give a business degree a shot, in order to find out if it was something I might enjoy. I went to the University of Arkansas to study Finance. I had one of the most memorable years of my life so far, but that was all thanks to the people I had around me. I made exceptional friends while I was there. However, I quickly realized that I only enjoyed college because I was surrounded by incredible people, rather than because I was enjoying my classes. I had always done well in school and this was no exception, but I wasn’t excited about going to class. There wasn’t a spark in me about what I was studying. I knew that I could get my degree and land a stable job, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do because I wasn’t interested in the material. After one year at the University of Arkansas and a whole lot of contemplating, I decided to pursue my life as an actor more seriously. All of my friends and family were very supportive in this decision. They supported me in the idea that everyone should pursue the things that they love doing.
I have been back in Dallas for nine months, and I haven’t looked back. The opportunities that I have gotten to act have proven to me how much I love this career. Whether I am working on my own projects, working on big-budget films, or just working with my acting coach, my passion grows every day. The process of inhabiting the people in these imaginary worlds is a wonderful thing. It provides a release from my every day life, as well as a better perspective of others lives. I love being able to dissect the thought process and emotional state of a person, in order to tell their story realistically. I am learning new things every day, and my journey continues as I look to other cities as potential future homes.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It becomes tougher and tougher as the rate of my success becomes more independent. In middle school and high school, It was easier because I wasn’t ever worried about life out on my own. Now that I am working and pursuing a life in a career that is mostly unstable, my success is a direct reflection of how much energy and time I am willing to put into my work. Every profession is a grind as you climb the ladder to the top, and that is exactly where I am right now: Living out the grind and trying to prove yourself. As long as I keep grinding with passion and putting my best foot forward, my work will pay off.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am an actor. I have always been the extroverted, charismatic type. I am rarely uncomfortable, and I live my life with a “yes, and” mentality. I used to think that everyone had a similar thought process to mine and that people were familiar with the way my brain worked. I realized this past year as I began my acting career that I couldn’t have been more wrong. I am vastly different from the population in terms of the way that I create and think. Dialects, impressions, and hypothetical situations are constantly running around in my head. Sometimes I don’t know what I’m saying as I’m saying it. There is a continuous create process happening in my head, and I try not to stop it. Many nights I find myself unable to sleep because I’m talking in an accent or doing an impression. Sometimes I creep myself out, but it is all a part of the creative process. Every day brings something different out of me.
What were you like growing up?
I have always been charismatic and extroverted. I get that from my family. I have four older brothers, all of which have pursued vastly different things. Both of my parents are incredible human beings. My dad is incredibly intelligent and arguably the funniest of us all. My mom is the most loving, gentle person I have ever known. Most of my childhood was spent trying to find things to do outside because we didn’t have iPhones or computers until we got into high school. I have played just about every sport you can imagine: football, baseball, soccer, wrestling, track and field, and hockey. I was a crazy kid, mainly because I wanted attention, but that eventually led to a passion for storytelling. I look up to my brothers, so a lot of my interests came from watching things that they did and trying those things.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 469-371-4750
- Email: colehawkins7@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colehawkins/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cole.hawkins.92798?ref=bookmarks
Image Credit:
Kelly Sparks
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