# Renn Hawkey
**Renn Hawkey** (born 1971) is an American musician, keyboardist, and film producer, known as a founding member of the rock band Deadsy, as the husband and frequent creative partner of actress and filmmaker [Vera Farmiga](https://www.edgepedia.org/vera-farmiga), and as keyboardist of the band The Yagas.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1971, United States[1](https://boo.world/database/profile/319559/renn-hawkey-personality-type) |
| Professions | Actor, producer, soundtrack and music department credits; AlloCiné lists him as producer, actor, and music supervisor[2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/renn-hawkey/3000242108/) • [3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-436480/filmographie/) |
| Deadsy | Founding member and synth player of the band formed in 1996 by Elijah Blue, son of Cher and Gregg Allman[4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F20%2F202bdd30-d4cf-4bc1-bcfa-12c6a20d848b.pdf) • [5](https://concert.ryansimmons.net/season06/Oct09/AmericanWayDec1post2pdf.pdf) • [6](https://lollipopmagazine.com/1997/06/deadsy-interview/) |
| Film work | Producer and musical director of *Higher Ground* (2011), directed by and starring Vera Farmiga[4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F20%2F202bdd30-d4cf-4bc1-bcfa-12c6a20d848b.pdf) |
| Acting | Played Paul Koretsky in the A+E series *The Returned* (2015)[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3230780/fullcredits/) |
| The Yagas | Keyboardist and producer of the band he formed with Farmiga in 2023; debut album *Midnight Minuet* released April 25, 2025[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/) |
## Deadsy
Hawkey was a founding member of Deadsy, a heavy band built around electronics, keyboards, and ultra-distorted bass, formed in 1996 by [Elijah Blue Allman](https://www.edgepedia.org/elijah-blue-allman), the son of Cher and [Gregg Allman](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregg-allman)[5](https://concert.ryansimmons.net/season06/Oct09/AmericanWayDec1post2pdf.pdf) • [6](https://lollipopmagazine.com/1997/06/deadsy-interview/). A 1997 interview with the band described its sound as incorporating elements of 1980s new wave and dark rock and metal, and listed Hawkey on synthesizer[6](https://lollipopmagazine.com/1997/06/deadsy-interview/). The band released *Commencement* on DreamWorks in 2002 and *Phantasmagore* on Elementree in 2006[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/).
In interviews, Hawkey has described Deadsy as genre-blending and difficult to categorize; the band was often lumped into the nu-metal scene of the early 2000s, a label he says did not fit what the group was doing[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/). He has also noted that comparisons with the band Orgy arose largely because Deadsy had recorded first but released later, and that the two bands shared producer Josh Abraham[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/).
His participation in Deadsy became intermittent after he moved back to New York while the rest of the band remained in Los Angeles; he describes the last two and a half decades as smatterings of music made when time allowed, with a planned Deadsy album begun in 2018 stalling amid the COVID-19 pandemic[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/) • [9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html).
## Film and television work
Hawkey served as producer and musical director of *Higher Ground* (2011), the feature directorial debut of his wife, Vera Farmiga, who also starred in the film[4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F20%2F202bdd30-d4cf-4bc1-bcfa-12c6a20d848b.pdf). At the film's release, a press biography reported that he and Farmiga lived in the [Hudson Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/hudson-valley) with their two children, and that his projects in development included *Flying Squirrels*, a dark comedy about family grief that he wrote and intended to direct, and *Uncle Sam*, a film starring [Boyd Holbrook](https://www.edgepedia.org/boyd-holbrook)[4](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F20%2F202bdd30-d4cf-4bc1-bcfa-12c6a20d848b.pdf).
As an actor he played Paul Koretsky in *The Returned*, the 2015 A+E Networks drama series about a town where people thought dead suddenly reappear; IMDb credits him with three episodes[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3230780/fullcredits/) • [10](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-returned/cast/1000416503/). [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) also credits him with an appearance as Dark's bass player in *The Singing Detective*[2](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/renn-hawkey/3000242108/). AlloCiné lists forthcoming or undated projects including *Bad Bloom*, *The Returned*, *Prima*, and *Higher Ground* under his name[3](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-436480/filmographie/), and the Turkish film database Beyazperde credits him as producer of *Bad Bloom* (2021)[11](https://www.beyazperde.com/sanatcilar/sanatci-436480/filmografi/).
## Work with Vera Farmiga
Hawkey and Farmiga have been together for 21 years as of a 2025 interview, and collaborate across several fields[9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html). She and I produce everything, Hawkey said of their joint work, which spans film and television production, real estate and residential projects, a commercial historic preservation project, and raising their children[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/). A personality-profile database states that the couple founded the production company Firmdale Films[1](https://boo.world/database/profile/319559/renn-hawkey-personality-type).
## The Yagas
In 2023, Hawkey and Farmiga formed The Yagas, a band from New York that combines industrial, goth, and rock elements[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/) • [9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html). The group came together through the Woodstock Rock Academy, a children's music school owned by drummer Jason Bowman and his wife Acacia Ludwig; a child signed Hawkey up for the school's adult program as a joke, Farmiga joined him, and the two met guitarist Mark Visconti there, with bassist Mike Davis completing the lineup[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/) • [9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html).
The first song the group wrote was "I Am", written in the Hawkey-Farmiga living room with Hawkey on piano; within a month the band had written four songs, and it entered the studio intending to record six but completed 13 in two days[9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html). The band's debut album, *Midnight Minuet*, was released on April 25, 2025, with Hawkey credited on synths, sound design, and production[8](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/) • [12](https://cdnc.heyzine.com/flip-book/pdf/631110f86b654cc6d9d52eea9a5e605edbd3de87.pdf). The name comes from Farmiga, who is of Ukrainian heritage and drew on the Slavic folkloric figure [Baba Yaga](https://www.edgepedia.org/baba-yaga)[9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html).
The band operates without a record label or booking agent, funding recordings and videos out of pocket, and has so far favored music videos and a few one-off live shows over touring[9](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html).
## References
1. [Renn Hawkey: Profile, Biography, Personality Type, Boo](https://boo.world/database/profile/319559/renn-hawkey-personality-type)
2. [Renn Hawkey, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/renn-hawkey/3000242108/)
3. [Renn Hawkey, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-436480/filmographie/)
4. [Higher Ground press kit, Mongrel Media](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F20%2F202bdd30-d4cf-4bc1-bcfa-12c6a20d848b.pdf)
5. [Bernard Passman column on Vera Farmiga and Deadsy](https://concert.ryansimmons.net/season06/Oct09/AmericanWayDec1post2pdf.pdf)
6. [Deadsy Interview, Lollipop Magazine (June 1997)](https://lollipopmagazine.com/1997/06/deadsy-interview/)
7. [The Returned (2015) Full Cast & Crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3230780/fullcredits/)
8. [Interview – Renn Hawkey of The Yagas, Cryptic Rock (May 28, 2025)](https://crypticrock.com/interview-renn-hawkey-of-the-yagas/)
9. [A Conversation With The Yagas Keyboardist Renn Hawkey, Misplaced Straws (April 29, 2025)](https://misplacedstraws.com/2025/04/a-conversation-with-the-yagas-keyboardist-renn-hawkey.html)
10. [The Returned Cast, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/the-returned/cast/1000416503/)
11. [Renn Hawkey: filmografi, Beyazperde.com](https://www.beyazperde.com/sanatcilar/sanatci-436480/filmografi/)
12. [SHELÉA flip-book feature on The Yagas](https://cdnc.heyzine.com/flip-book/pdf/631110f86b654cc6d9d52eea9a5e605edbd3de87.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Directors, producers, and screenwriters › Film producers › American and Canadian film producers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license