Date of Birth

3 December 1984, Roseau, Minnesota, USA

Birth Name

Garrett John Hedlund

Height

6' 2½" (1.89 m)

Mini Biography

Born in Roseau, Minnesota, Garrett John Hedlund is the son of Kristi Anne (Yanish) and Robert Martin Hedlund. He has two older siblings, Nathaniel and Amanda. His father is of Swedish descent and his mother is of German and Norwegian ancestry.

Garrett spent his early years growing up on a farm in a small town. When he was in the ninth grade, he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, with his mother, and took private acting lessons. After graduating from high school, he immediately moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career. One month later, he would landed the role of Achilles' cousin Patroclus in the major feature Troy (2004) opposite Brad Pitt. His next feature was Friday Night Lights (2004) starring Billy Bob Thornton, in which Garrett played a high school football player. He then landed a starring role opposite Mark Wahlberg in Four Brothers (2005), playing one of four brothers whose mother is murdered. He also starred opposite Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde in TRON: Legacy (2010), the long-awaited sequel to the science fiction cult classic TRON (1982).

Trivia

• Modeled for L.L. Bean and Teen magazine before acting.
• Won the role of Patroclus in Troy (2004) only one month after arriving in Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
• Grew up as a huge fan of Tim McGraw only to have him play his father in Friday Night Lights (2004).
• Gained at least 30 lbs. of muscle for the role of Patroclus in Troy (2004), then gained another 20 for the role of Don Billinsley in Friday Night Lights (2004) - only to slim back down for the role of Jack Mercer in Four Brothers (2005).
• Ran track and field during high school.
• Family: mother Kristi, father Robert, older brother Nathaniel and older sister Amanda.
• Nominated for Choice Breakout Movie Star - Male for "Troy" in the 2004 Teen Choice Awards.
• Is a huge fan of punk rock.
• Parents divorced when he was a young boy.
• Participated in ice skating, wrestling and football during high school.
• Grew up on a farm that only got one radio station, that played country music. The airwaves were dominated by Tim McGraw, who later went on to star as his father in Friday Night Lights (2004).
• Enjoys hunting and the outdoors.
• When he was 15, went to various punk rock shows to photograph the bands and their fashions.
• Current residence: In an apartment in Los Angeles (which he bought with the money he made from Troy (2004)).
• Attended Horizon High School in Phoenix, Arizona but graduated a semester early to pursue acting.
• Broke his arm snowboarding and could not attend the London premiere of Eragon (2006) with his fellow cast members.
• His father is of Swedish descent, while his mother is of three quarters German and one quarter Norwegian ancestry.
• Was discovered at a ProScout event.
• Good friends with TRON: Legacy (2010) co-star Olivia Wilde.
• Named the #8 Sexiest Man by Glamour magazine in 2011.
• Auditioned for two Marvel roles, Steve Rogers/Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and Peter Quill/Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
• Born on the same date as Paz de la Huerta.
• His partner Emma Roberts announced via Instagram post on 31 August 2020 that they are expecting their first child, a boy.
• Father, with partner Emma Roberts, of son Rhodes Robert Hedlund (b. December 27, 2020).

Trademarks:

• Deep resonant voice
  
• Light bold blue eyes
  
• Muscular physique
  

Quotes

• [on Friday Night Lights (2004)]: 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.
• I've been told I'm too good looking for certain roles, but that's okay, it just motivates me to go deeper.
• Everything to me in life is like the second scratch.
• I've always had a longstanding dream, ever since I was a kid, where I was running on a big lake of ice and I kept running and kept running, just about to where I was trying to get to, and I fell through the ice, and then I couldn't find the hole where I fell through to get back out again. It was always like this certain thing where I could only get so far before everything collapses. So I guess it's a bit of living in fear. But I don't try to put it that way, because I feel that is going to pull everything you fear toward you. It's about acknowledging the fear for about five percent, and then ninety-five percent goes into shrugging it all off.
• 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.
• When Terrence Howard and I worked together [on John Singleton's Four Brothers (2005)], he showed me what was basically the first thing I ever learned on a guitar. It was a little Spanish number. But by the time we started working on On the Road (2012) together, five years later, I'd obviously learned how to play more, so Terrence came to my room with a guitar and played a song, and then I played a song, and then he played a song, and then I played a song - this must have gone back and forth about 12 times. It was nice to have been able to do that.
• [on being inspired by co-star Hugh Jackman on the set of Pan] Hugh's amazing. He sets a standard for young males all over the place. He puts 110 percent into everything he does, including fitness. Hugh and I trained with this wonderful trainer named David Kingsbury. We got some gym sessions in together. It's a lot to keep up with, but it's wonderful to see someone who works out as hard as he does, it's inspiring.