Background:

“A great amount of good is always evened out by a great amount of bad. I find it's best to acknowledge that weird balance.” Garrett Hedlund

American actor and former model Garrett Hedlund first came to the attention of public when he played Brad Pitt's cousin, Patroclus, on the Academy Award nominating “Troy” (2004), where he picked up a Teen Choice nomination for his performance. He has since appeared in a series of films, such as “Friday Night Lights” (2004), “Four Brothers” (2005, earned a Black Reel nomination), “Eragon” (2006), “Death Sentence” (2007), “Country Strong” (2010) and “Tron: Legacy” (2010, earned a Saturn nomination). In 2011, Hedlund won the Young Hollywood Award for Actor of Year.  

Currently, Hedlund resides in Los Angeles. He enjoys hunting and the outdoors, and is a big fan of punk rock. When he was 15, he attended various punk rock shows to photograph the bands, and their fashions. Hedlund is of Swedish descent.     


Athlete

Childhood and Family:

Garrett John Hedlund was born on September 3, 1984, in Roseau, Minnesota, to Robert Martin Hedlund and Kristine Anne. Along with his two older siblings, Nathaniel and Amanda, Garrett was raised on a remote farm where the family only received one radio signal to a country music station. It was Tim McGraw, who would later play his father in “Friday Night Lights,” that dominated the airwaves. Following the divorce of his parents, Garrett moved to Scottsdale, Arizona with his mother, and attended the Horizon High school in Phoenix, Arizona, where he took part in various athletic activities, including track, football and wrestling. In ninth grade, Garrett started taking acting classes and started working as a model for LL Bean and Teen magazine. He graduated a semester early from school and subsequently moved to Los Angeles to chase his ambitions.   


Four Brothers

Career:

Following some modeling gigs in Arizone, Garrett Hedlund made his auspicious acting debut as Patroclus, the cousin to Achilles (played by Brad Pitt), in Wolfgang Petersen's epic war movie, “Troy” (2004), loosely based on Homer's “Iliad.” The film grossed $133,378,256 at the domestic market and $364,031,596  overseas for a worldwide total of $497,409,852. The budget was $175 million. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design. Hedlund was nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category of Choice Breakout Movie Star - Male for the role.  

Hedlund quickly resurfaced with his next role, as Fullback Don Billingsley, on Peter Berg's  football drama, “Friday Night Lights,” which was released on October 8, 2004. Adapted from H. G. Bissinger's book, “Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream,” the film received mostly positive reviews, and grossed over $61.9 million against a budget of $30 million. Co-stars in the film included Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Luke, Jay Hernandez, Lucas Black and his childhood idol, Tim McGraw. Commenting about the film, he said, “I grew up on a farm, and Lucas in the jungles of Alabama, so I think we adapted very well. It's just a lot that these guys are holding on their shoulders at such a young age. There's a lot they're dealing with, the town pressure or support, their home life, all of that causes a sense of internal insecurities. These guys are realizing how crazy it is that they're going through all this at such a young age.”       

In 2005, Hedlund was cast as Mark Wahlberg's younger brother, Jack Mercer in John Singleton's action/crime movie, “Four Brothers,” based on the 1965 Western film “The Sons of Katie Elder.” He jointly netted a Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble for his performance. “Four Brothers” received favorable reviews and was success at the box office. In the following year, Hedlund landed the role of  Murtagh, the friend and rescuer of the protagonist, on “Eragon,” a fantasy/adventure movie based on the novel of the same name, directed by Stefen Fangmeier. Despite a negative reception, the film was a success financially.

2007 found Hedlund play Lindsay Lohan's Mormon love interest, Harlan, on the critically panned comedy/drama “Georgia Rule,” directed by Garry Marshall, and the victim turned vigilante Billy Darley in the psychological thriller movie “Death Sentence,” opposite Kevin Bacon. Hedlund resurfaced after a few years hiatus in 2010's country music drama “Country Strong,” where he co-starred with Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester and reunited with Tim McGraw. There he played a a emerging young singer-songwriter named Beau Hutton. The same year, he also played a leading role alongside Jeff Bridges in “Tron: Legacy,” the sequel to the 1982 science fiction classic “Tron.” His portrayal of Sam Flynn brought him a 2011 Saturn nomination in the category of Best Supporting Actor.

Hedlund has completed filming the role of Dean Moriarty in the film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's book, “On the Road,” directed by Walter Salles. It is set for a 2012 release. Hedlund will play roles in the forthcoming movies “Inside Llewyn Davis” (2013), a drama written and directed by the Coen brothers, and “Akira” (2013, as Kaneda), an action/drama directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.


Awards:

Young Hollywood: Actor of the Year, 2011 Show Less