Garrett Hedlund realizes his Hollywood dreams
If Hollywood had a leading-man factory, Garrett Hedlund would be forged from its golden-boy mold. Itâs the template that produces the kind of easy-on-the-eyes, blond-haired, blue-eyed actors like Robert Redford and Brad Pitt who seem genetically predestined for roles throwing footballs, wearing cowboy hats and curling the leading ladyâs toes.
Hedlund has done all of that in his eight years in Los Angeles, but as far as Hollywood is concerned, he is just arriving. In the last month, heâs starred in a Disney tent pole ( âTron: Legacyâ), crooned opposite Gwyneth Paltrow ( âCountry Strongâ) and is about to be onscreen as a lead in an iconic indie adaptation ( Walter Sallesâ âOn the Roadâ). For this Midwestern farm boy, itâs been a brisk and unlikely journey.
Hedlund, 26, grew up on a 400-acre cattle ranch 25 miles outside of Rouseau, Minn., population 2,500. âI had to jump on the tractor and do my chores,â he says of his childhood. âI would have just killed to be in town, to be able to Rollerblade hand-in-hand with somebody I had a crush on. I just wanted to get off the farm, to find my outlet.â
His outlet, he determined quite early, would be Hollywood. Getting here was the tricky part. Hedlund copied studio addresses off the back of VHS tapes and mailed letters asking to be in the movies. At 14, when he moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., he began hanging out at the local Borders bookstore, scouring Variety and reading books by talent manager and producer Bernie Brillstein.
As a teenager, Hedlund called Brillsteinâs office regularly. âIâd say, âIâm an aspiring actor seeking representation. Would you sit down with me?â Of course, I never got a call back.â (A few years ago, Hedlund was picked up as a client by Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Shortly before Brillstein died in 2008, Hedlund attended one of his book signings and introduced himself. âBernie said, âNow that youâre my client, I might start answering your calls,â â Hedlund recalls.)
Hedlund speaks in a soft baritone, and with an earnestness that seems wildly out of place at the Beverly Hills power lunch spot where heâs being interviewed. He tends to coin his own words, like âpartializeâ and âsubtextualize,â and winces and suggests moving seats when a deal broker at the next table yells into his cellphone, âAlan, youâre a true mogul!â
During high school, Hedlund took acting classes, modeled for L.L. Bean catalogs and Teen magazine and doubled up on coursework so he could finish early and move to Los Angeles. He was also, thanks to an English teacher who took an interest in his writing, cultivating a love for reading that included Jack Kerouac and Tennessee Williams.
Eventually, he secured an agent and manager, and by the time his classmates were getting ready for senior prom, Hedlund was in Malta, filming his first movie part as Pittâs cousin in âTroy.â (In a bit of a portentous parallel, some critics are comparing his performance in âCountry Strongâ to Pittâs breakout seduction scene in âThelma and Louiseâ at age 28.) Other acting work quickly followed â a Texas high school football player in âFriday Night Lights,â one of John Singletonâs âFour Brothers,â a supporting part in the fantasy âEragon.â
In 2007, Brazilian director Salles cast Hedlund as beat character Dean Moriarty in a long-gestating adaptation of Kerouacâs âOn the Roadâ that Francis Ford Coppola was producing. Hedlund, thrilled to earn a serious, artistic, leading role that relied on his vulnerability as much as his physicality, swore to Salles he would take no other part until âOn the Roadâ got off the ground.
In a reflection either of his naivete about the fragility of independent film financing or his commitment to Salles â or some combination of the two â Hedlund didnât work for the next two years. While waiting for financing for âOn the Roadâ to come together, he spent his time reading everything he could find on the Beat Generation and visited a New York museum that was exhibiting the original scroll upon which Kerouac had written the book.
By the time he auditioned to play Jeff Bridgesâ son in âTronâ in the fall of 2008 â a long shot leading role in a potential studio franchise â Hedlund was taking loose change to Coinstar machines to get money for gas.
âWe were doing a pretty exhaustive search for Sam Flynn,â says Sean Bailey, Disneyâs president of production and âTronâsâ producer. âPhysically and demeanor-wise, we needed someone who could credibly stand against Jeff Bridges. We wanted a classic leading man, but the character we were casting had grown up with some complicated issues, had a certain stoicism and a quiet confidence, and also athleticism. Itâs a hard combination to find.â
Bailey and âTronâ director Joseph Kosinski felt they had found that combination in Hedlund, but there was a wrinkle. âHe was so creatively committed to âOn the Road,ââ Bailey says. âHe was really conflicted about going ahead.â
The scope of the opportunity helped Hedlund overcome his reluctance, and he put the beat world on the shelf for a digital one.
âJumping onto âTronâ was hard because you had to tie this kite youâd been flying up to a post,â he says. The actor began heavy physical preparation for âTronâ â he got a motorcycle license, trained in stunt fighting and worked out intensely to fit into the spandex lightsuit. It took two-and-a-half hours every morning to put on the costume, and days on the effects-heavy film ran long.
While he was shooting âTronâ in Vancouver, Hedlund met with âCountry Strongâ writer-director Shana Feste, who was casting a role for a soulful young singer-songwriter with whom Paltrowâs alcoholic country star would find some comfort. âHe said he doesnât really sing, but he has this beautiful speaking voice thatâs so low,â says Feste. âItâs such a sexy voice. I thought there has to be something great to come out of that voice if he learns to sing.â
Hedlund ultimately confirmed Festeâs suspicions by singing the Pearl Jam song âBetter Manâ at a karaoke bar. After âTronâ wrapped, he started learning guitar from Ryan Adamsâ backing guitarist and meeting with Feste twice a week, running lines and watching videos of country artists like Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. Six weeks before shooting started, he moved to a cabin outside Nashville that belonged to his âCountry Strongâ costar and onscreen father from âFriday Night Lights,â Tim McGraw, and practiced guitar all day. âGarrett was sweet and great and like an enthusiastic puppy dog,â recalls Paltrow.
By the time âCountry Strongâ was a week into production in Nashville, Hedlund had acquired some fans â local girls cast as extras for the concert scenes kept popping up and elbowing their way to the stage, a bit of a problem because the shows were supposed to be taking place in different cities.
âI never once had to tell those girls, âOK you really think this guy is cute. You really love his music,ââ says Feste. âThey got the motivation.â
After he finished filming âCountry Strong,â Hedlund got the opportunity heâd long been waiting for â Salles went into production on âOn the Road,â a road-trip shoot that took him to Montreal, Argentina, New Orleans, Mexico, Chile, Calgary and finally San Francisco. On the morning of Dec. 11, he was driving a 1949 Hudson Hornet across the Bay Bridge to shoot his final scene for that role. That night, he walked a red carpet on Hollywood Boulevard for the premiere of âTron.â
ââOn the Roadâ is a film telling you to live as much as you can,â says Hedlund. âDonât let fear hold you back from anything. That feels really right right now, doesnât it?â
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