Renn Hawkey

About

Renn McDonnell Hawkey (born March 29, 1974) is an American musician, songwriter, music producer, and occasional actor. He played the synthesizer for the rock band Deadsy. He performed on their unreleased self-titled debut album (1996) and subsequent releases Commencement (2002) and Phantasmagore (2006).
In 2011, Hawkey served as musical director and producer on his wife Vera Farmiga’s directorial debut film Higher Ground, and in 2017, he executive produced the documentary film Unspoken. In 2015, he had a recurring role as Paul Koretsky in the A&E series The Returned.
Since 2024, he has been a member of the rock band The Yagas, alongside his wife. He also produced their debut album Midnight Minuet (2025).

Hawkey was born in New York City, and grew up in Ossining, New York. He is the third of five children born to Penelope “Penny” (née Sharp), an advertising executive who wrote the Coca-Cola commercial “Hey Kid, Catch!”, and William Stevenson “Bill” Hawkey, who also worked in advertising. His parents now own and operate Sundial Farm, a plant nursery in Ossining. Hawkey has four full siblings: Adam, a film compositor and colorist, Robin, a chiropractor, Timothy, a marketing…