OVER COFFEE IN A BROOKLYN DINER, GARRETT HEDLUND DISCUSSES TRON LEGACY, HIS FEARS, AND LIFE BACK ON HIS PARENTS' FARM
Garrett Hedlund only got as far as his plan A, which was to drive his Chevy S10 to LA and be cast in his first film before the age of 19. All went according to plan, and by the time he flew off to Malta to shoot for Troy, he had already put plans B and C behind him, along with the life on his parents’ farm in Minnesota. Now at 25, Garrett is onto his second blockbuster film, but this time as the lead character in the film Tron Legacy.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE ORIGINAL TRON MOVIE WHEN YOU SAW IT?
I watched the original in 2003 when I was filming Troy in Malta. I remember thinking how crazy people’s minds were in those days, to be able to create a film dealing with a man being sucked into a computer. I never thought that one day I would be involved in this.
DID YOU HAVE ANY HESITATIONS IN ACCEPTING THE ROLE OF SAM FLYNN?
I’ve always been hesitant of being involved in a big commercial blockbuster because there is a lot of fear involved. The fear of massive exposure, that all the visual effects will be as grand and as impactful as they’ve been promised to be, and hoping that the story will come across well. But this film was perfect to jump into without fear. The director was fantastic and the cast are amazing. I’ve always wanted to work with Jeff Bridges, and now we’re playing father and son. I’ve known Olivia Wilde for years prior, and it was just as big a deal to her as it was for me because neither of us had starred in a big commercial vehicle, and it was cool to share and take this step forward with her.
HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR THE ROLE?
The character I play is an extremist full of adventure and life, so basically we had to go through a lot of extensive physical training in order to prepare for the stunts. I had to get my motorcycle licence and train every morning from 7am to 9am, and then go do physical combat training: punches, knees, and kicks. And afterwards I would go into hard- core training – jumping over things and doing weight-lifting for an hour.
SO YOU MADE A MOVIE AND GOT INTO GOOD SHAPE?
[Laughs] Yeah, I guess, but then for my last role I played a country singer, and as much work that I put into getting in great shape, I had to put into getting in the exact opposite shape.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR FILM WHERE YOU PLAYED A COUNTRY SINGER
The film’s called Love Don’t Let Me Down, and it was just as difficult emotionally as Tron was physically. I play a young country singer that goes on tour with Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, who is one of the biggest country stars out there but who has fallen down too many times. She gets taken out of rehab to go on tour and she wants me to open for her because she’s fallen for me and finds an extreme amount of promise in me. So we go on to this tour, and one thing after another starts to fall apart.
CONTINUING READING THIS INTERVIEW IN THE APRIL MAY ISSUE WONDERLAND MAGAZINE - ON SALE NOW
