John Hawkes chats about 'The Sessions' and Oscar

For an Oscar nominee, John Hawkes comes across as an impossibly humble guy. There's not a hint of the braggadocio or self-importance that should rightfully come with being widely considered one of the best actors around.

The modesty is especially impressive when you consider that the "Winter's Bone" star, 53, is well on his way to a second Academy Awards nomination. He's sure to make the short list for his challenging work in "The Sessions," a dramedy based on a true story about Mark O'Brien, a journalist-poet crippled by polio and forced to live in an iron lung, who hires sex therapist Cheryl (Helen Hunt) in an attempt to lose his virginity.

amNewYork spoke with Hawkes about the movie, which hits theaters Friday.