Interview: 'Death' mettle for Roseau native

At 23, Garrett Hedlund has already appeared prominently in a big-budget historical blockbuster ("Troy"), an action thriller ("Four Brothers"), a weighty sports drama ("Friday Night Lights"), a special-effects fantasy ("Eragon") and a comedy-drama ("Georgia Rule") in which Lindsay Lohan's character gives Hedlund's character his sexual initiation in a rowboat.

Now the native of Roseau, Minn., stars opposite Kevin Bacon and John Goodman in "Death Sentence," playing his first heavy, a gangleader terrorizing a mild-mannered businessman. In a recent phone conversation, he talked about performing alongside veteran actors, playing against his matinee-idol looks and being blasted apart in an onscreen gunfight.

Q In this movie, you can't hide inside a big cast. You're not the sidekick, you're the big, bad villain. Did you feel any increased sense of pressure or responsibility stepping up like that?

A No, not at all. I felt much more motivated and inspired. I've worked with a lot of great actors and I've been able to just sit back and learn from them. Working with them always inspires you to do a great job, as well. I was so amped, too, because the character's such a complete opposite from everything else I've played. This guy was a thug and a complete opposite from what I am as a person, so every day you're pushing yourself. You're learning and growing every single day.

Q At this point, do you choose your roles or do you go where you're wanted? How did you get this one?

A I read the script about a year before it started filming. I was about 20 years old, right? And the role of Billy was written as 30 years old. So I was like, no chance. Then out of the blue, they called and offered me this role. And had I gone in to read for it, there probably would have been no chance I would have gotten it. Physically, I don't think I was somebody they would have cast; I had long hair, I was clean-shaven. It was one of those things that was meant to be.

Q Is part of the appeal of a role like this so that nobody can say you're coasting on your good looks?

A That wasn't the appeal for me. I like the darker films, this kind of content. It was about looking at how to diversify, how to structure things for hopefully a long career. That's what I was looking for, just different colors.

Q You have some really intense one-on-one scenes with John Goodman and Kevin Bacon. Did that require you to ramp up your acting game?

A It does. You just feel good that you're going to be in for an experience. You're going to be in for an actual session on set and you kind of get to lose yourself creatively and work. It's great to have that with Kevin. The last moment in the film is one of my favorites, a scene with just me and Kevin that's almost all silent. To work with Kevin on this is great. Going onto the next film, I'll be a little stronger and more in control than I was on the previous films.

Q Was it a kick to shoot guns and lose appendages in a screen shootout?

A The guns, that's just great old Minnesota deer hunting there. I grew up just outside of Roseau way up north, and I had the gun permit at 11 like all the rest of 'em. The appendages -- you just never know how much you need those fingers until they're gone. It's a little gruesome. I guess that won't be my mom's favorite onscreen moment of mine. I think Dad and brother might give me a pat on the back. Mom and sister might be a little jaw-dropping.

Q What really happened with Lindsay Lohan in the rowboat in "Georgia Rule"?

A You know that's just uncomfortable, when you're doing a scene like that and all you can hear in the bushes is [paparazzi cameras going] click-click-click-click.

For a longer version of this interview, go to www.startribune.com/movies.

Colin Covert • 612-673-7186

Colin Covert • ccovert@startribune.com