Exclusive Interview: Garrett Hedlund

Garrett Hedlund:  Hello.
Me:  Garrett?
Garrett: Yes.
Me: Hi.  This is Chapin.  How are you?
Garrett: Hi, I'm very well.  Nice to meet you, Chapin.
Me: Nice to meet you too.  Where are you speaking to me from?
Garrett: I'm in Los Angeles.  I understand you're in New York?
Me:  No.  I'm in L. A. too.
Garrett: Oh, you are?
Me: Yeah.  So we're on the same time zone.  How many of these phone interviews have you done today?
Garrett: I'm not sure!
Me: Losing track?
Garrett: I mean, with the Tron-machine junkets and everything else, all told, yeah.  But I'm quite fine now.

Here is what I knew about Garrett before this interview:
His voice was deep.
He was starring in 'TRON Legacy' and quite good in that.
He was also starring in 'Country Strong' with Gwyneth Paltrow and Leighton Meester.He was shooting the Jack Kerouac book adaptation 'On the Road' with Kristen Stewart as his wife.

Why so little? (okay, I knew a bit more because I did my research, but not much) And why have you barely heard his name before despite his being in almost only high profile projects like these?:

The primary reason you haven't heard much, if at all, about him, is that he is a definitively private guy and he ain't playing the look-at-me game.  

That said, he's also a guy on the threshold of some potentially huge (and maybe unwanted?) fame. He's currently starring in the movies mentioned above, 'TRON Legacy' and 'Country Strong,' and has a movie coming up where he plays Kristen Stewart's husband, which is going to push him into the spotlight in a whole new way.Garrett Hedlund's about to land on the Hollywood 'Grid' ... hard core.

Speaking to him a few days ago he didn't seem too aware of the impending change that could happen, but as you'll read, he's got his head screwed on straight.  Thankfully, even though he's private, he's also a really nice guy too and he had way more interesting things to say about his life and work than I expected. Here he is...

Me: So, I wanted to get a little bit on your background, because there's not that much except for you're from Minnesota and then you lived in Arizona and you're one of five kids, right?Garrett: Three.

Three?  Oh, okay.  But you're the youngest?Yes.

So what originally got you interested in acting?I don't know.  I mean, I guess it’s just something that when I was a little kid we'd have VHS, and I'd write to, you know, Universal or MGM, "can I be in one of your movies?" you know?  I think just because you're on a farm you just want to get away.  And so it was either that or be a professional baseball player.  And, you know, when I moved to Arizona, I was just state away, so I was able to sort of pursue an independent style of study and read everything I could and just pursue it that way.

Were you a super-focused kid with whatever you'd be into?I suppose, I mean, I just, I guess I loved everything.  I loved every sport, you know.  I played, you know, football, wrestling, baseball and I think anybody on a small town just wants to find their outlet and if any of those sports would have  taken me out of the town.  I would have done it.

Being the youngest, were you like the entertainer of the three?It's a weird quality that the youngest have because the oldest have been told no, they can't do that so many times that the parents are tired of it.  And by the time the youngest comes around, they always say you get away with a lot more. And so maybe that's it.  But yeah. I always kind of -- I was always just kind of a goof off.
 

Did you do any acting before actually like coming to Hollywood and doing auditions?It was just the auditions, and my first film was 'Troy.'

Wow, so straight to Hollywood ... there were no like school plays or anything.
Well, it was two years of flying back and forth. No plays or anything like that.  I mean, I wanted to do film, you know?  And so two years of flying back and forth auditioning for films.  And then being fortunate enough to be able to get one.  I mean, it was the first unbelievable thing that ever happened to me in my life.

I read, what was it, ten days after you moved to L. A. you were doing 'Troy'?  Something like that.Yeah, I was auditioning for it.

That's amazing.  Most of your roles would not be considered comedic, they're mostly dramas and big action movies, but I saw 'TRON Legacy' and I was surprised how funny you are. Would you ever be interested in doing comedy?I don't know.  If it was the right project.  I mean, I don't try and particularly search out comedic scripts. At the present time I like the ones that are extreme and completely opposite from anything I've done before.  And ones that take a lot of work and have a lot of emotion and takes a lot of work and emotion to be put into it in order to achieve the goal.  And that's what fulfills me more, and that's just tended to be more rather serious film in my career.

Well, that holds true that 'Country Strong' and 'TRON Legacy' couldn’t be more different.  What drew you to each of those roles?I filmed 'Tron' before 'Country Strong' and I started prepping for 'Country Strong' immediately after I finished 'Tron.'  But for 'Tron' the prep was learning parkour and mixed martial arts and weight training and motorcycle training.  When you're doing this type of film, it's just you know you're being a part of something so revolutionary and so new and cool. So I was very eager to be a part of it, and to work with Joe Kosinski.  I mean, I'm from Minnesota, he's from Iowa, so we have that tie.  But he's also what I feel is the next visionary genius of our time. And I feel so privileged to be not in Joseph

Kosinski's first film, but a Joseph Kosinski film. And for 'Country Strong,' I had started guitar training right after I had wrapped 'Tron' because I never knew how to play the guitar.  So in six months of guitar training. four days a week, you know, learning how to jam, and going to the studio and playing and singing at the same time, and just trying to progress. And then I moved to Nashville a month and a half early to be out there and to get comfortable inNashville.  And then we embarked on our filming process.  So I was very proud of the work put in, and that [director] Shana Feste believed in me for that role, and knew I couldn't play it, but she believed in me when I said, "I'll do whatever it takes."

That's awesome. Did you keep up with anything like the parkour, or do you still play the guitar?I play the guitar a little bit here and there. I haven't lately because I've been on the road filming the movie 'On the Road' and the character doesn't play guitar, so I didn't want to bring the guitar along.  But, I mean, I think I'll be playing the guitar for the rest of my life.

When you pick up the guitar do you have a song that your fingers go to the chords automatically?Yeah.  "Chances Are" from the film.

Ahh. You sing in 'Country Strong.'  To get the part you obviously had to prove that you could sing.  How did you audition singing-wise?I took Shana to karaoke and I sang "Better Man" by Pearl Jam.  (laughs) It didn't go over so well.

It didn't?No.  But she saw, well, she okayed it and -- I don't know.  I guess maybe it went all right.

Well, you got the role!But when it comes karaoke time that was always my go to.  And I figured I'd be able to try and do it confidently.  And but I'm very fortunate that she believed in me.

Did she have you like sing any country songs or anything like that?No, not then.  I mean, she was just like, "that wasn't country." (laughs) And I said, "that's the only one I know how to sing."

Ha!  That's funny! So, you're on just about every 'one to watch' and 'hot' list of 2010 and 2011.  But it kind of seems like you might not really like or want people watching you in that way.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but it kind of seems like acting appeals to you, but celebrity does not.
Yeah.  Yeah.  I mean, these films haven't even come out yet and, you know, it's been pretty crazy, but my focus at this time has been 'On the Road.'  

And we just wrapped yesterday morning in San Francisco, and it was exactly six months of filming.  And, you know, you get so beat, and you've been everywhere in the world.  I mean, we traveled all over the place for it. And, I mean, I wrapped at 11:00 in the morning and went straight to the airport to arrive here and go to the 'Tron' premiere last night on Hollywood Boulevard. 

And, you know, just being thrust into this, you know, massive sort of night. You know, I hope everybody enjoys the films, I'm really proud of them.  But no, I mean, I'm more a private guy.  And, you know, I'll just start looking for a place to hide.

Yeah.  Have you started being stalked by paparazzi or have you been able to avoid that so far? Yeah.  Yeah. I've been able to avoid it.

So I've got a few quickies I want to ask you before we wrap up, favorite books, that kind of stuff.  Is that all right?Mm-hmm.

So, favorite book?Favorite book.  Let's say 'On The Road.'

Favorite album?  That's always a hard one.
Let's go with Blaze Foley, I think it's at the Austin -- I can't remember.  But that's info to look up.  It's Blaze Foley, F-O-L-E-Y.  And it's Live at the Austin something.  I forget what it is.
 

All right, I'll look it up.  Favorite film?'Being There.'  Peter Sellers.

Have you read the book?No.

It's really good.  You have to read it.I know, man.  I can't -- but I love what he does with that performance so much as well.  But I really gotta read the book.

The book won't ruin it for you at all.  I promise.No.  Of course.  I probably, you know, it'd probably become my favorite book instead.

Favorite TV show?I don't watch TV.

No?  How about favorite travel destination.Favorite travel destination.  I've never been to the same place twice.  Let's see.  Favorite travel destination.  Nashville.

So you've just wrapped 'On The Road.'  Do you know what’s next after that?Nothing.  Just rest.

Take a break?  It seems like it's been pretty intense.Well, yeah.  It's just, you know, it was, kind of a journey of a lifetime we just embarked on.  So, there was so much work put together.  And I got the opportunity to play such a rich sort of vibrant character.  And one of the greatest characters I feel has really been written about. And even two nights ago I got to hang with the actual character, Neil Cassidy's ex-wife, Carolyn Cassidy in San Francisco two nights ago, and walked with her hand-in-hand up to Vesuvio's, the old bar they used drink at.

Oh, wow.And to be a part of this, and to look over and see Carolyn Cassidy smiling at me, it's just -- it was the very last day too, you know?  We'd done the whole journey, and now this is the gift.  And it was wonderful.

That's perfect.  That's awesome.  Do movies stick with you for awhile after you finish shooting or...?Yeah, it takes a little while.  I mean, you know, I think the 'Country Strong' one took quite a few weeks to shed. 

I mean, just because you started finding that life and lifestyle so desirable, so it was hard for me to let go of it. But yeah.  They kind of do, but you get back, and over time you sort of, you know, sink back into your couch and everything kind of goes back to the same.  It's good to get back to you after a while.

Makes sense.   And how are you gonna spend the holidays?I don't know yet.

You haven't had two seconds to think about it I bet.No.

Well, I hope they're great.  And congratulations on all of your success.  I can't wait to see 'Country Strong.'  
I'm excited for you to see it.

Now, with private actors, especially ones who are this good looking, their status can go one of two ways.  The first way, they eventually come to be known purely because of their stellar acting work. The other way is they can become hounded by the media and paparazzi who are trying to their hooks into him because the people demand to know who these people are off screen. Garrett seems bound and determined not to go the 'other' way.  Here's hoping...





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Carrie