John Hawkes, who plays Sol Star on HBO's Emmy Award-winning "Deadwood" series, laments the show's imminent demise and the bonds that will be lost.

More Photos (1):

Other articles by Gerald M. Gay:

Remote Controlled : Tucson-linked family to hit the road in NBC reality series Found sound Mr. K's draws raves Remote Controlled : Head to Phoenix area in July for more shots at reality fame Want DJs' tweets? Here's a sampleDancers? But of courseInfectious young mambo project With daughters away, Lorber in Tucson for weekend Jazz Party Original 1974 menu prices at Tucson's Bum Steer today Tucson (but greener) featured on Fox series

Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Health Care
Dependable Health Services
Physical Therapists Health Care
Sierra Tucson
Eating Disorders Program Coordinator Construction
West-Press
Printing Health Care
CENTRAL ARIZONA COLLEGE
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President

Actor John Hawkes has always considered his time as Sol Star on HBO's "Deadwood" a "special" experience.

So when it was announced last month that HBO would not pick up the curse-laden series for a fourth season, he was devastated.

"We thought we were their last hope after 'The Sopranos' ended," Hawkes said in a phone interview two weeks ago from Los Angeles. "Just about anyone on that show would cut their salary in half to come back and do another season. The language is unusual and it is set in a time and place where pioneer life meets the Victorian era. For many of us it was the most amazing creative experience."

The good news is "Deadwood's" creator David Milch has since reached an agreement with HBO to run two, two-hour specials in lieu of a full fourth season installment. The miniseries format will allow the show to wrap up any loose ends.

Even better is that fans still have 12 hour-long episodes of the Emmy Award-winning series ahead of them. Season three begins at 9 p.m. Sunday.

Viewers will continue to see the infamous South Dakota mining town grow and evolve with new characters introduced daily, Hawkes said.

"It's like clowns coming out of a Volkswagen at the circus," Hawkes said. "There are more and more people all the time. The Earp brothers show up like they did in real life, and Brian Cox (of 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'X2: X-Men United') comes through with his troupe as the theatrical character Jack Langrishe. It's your typical Deadwood mayhem, really."

Hawkes said his own character — the able-minded businessman Star — has a steady presence throughout the season with more screen-time promised toward the end of the summer. Not everyone on the series had the same opportunity.

"There are at least 40 to 50 characters on the show," Hawkes said. " 'Deadwood' is written in such a way that it is very last minute. There are times that you don't know you are working until 10 p.m. the night before. I learned a great lesson in the first season, as did many of us, not to worry or take it personally if your character ebbs or flows. It is just a part of life in Deadwood. If you are patient, your time will come."

Hawkes says one of the worst things about the show's imminent end is the bonds that will be lost after it is over.

"If you can ever recall going to summer camp and meeting people and falling in love with the whole bunch of them, that's the way it is with this cast," he said. "You are actually thinking together, telling a story and creating together. That has made us closer."

Hawkes also admitted he will miss the recognition he has received with the show. Though he has been acting in movies and on television since the late 1980s — including a role in the upcoming "Miami Vice" remake — the Minnesota-born performer says "Deadwood" has kicked his star power up a notch.

"I get recognized for 'Deadwood' all the time," Hawkes said. "It has a cult following. People often come up to me and tell me that 'Deadwood' is the only reason they have HBO."