For Garrett Hedlund, ‘Death Sentence’ is part of a lively career

The Kansas City Star Most young actors endure years of rejection and menial jobs before finding a degree of success in Hollywood.

 And then there’s Garrett Hedlund.
“I moved out here when I was 18,” Hedlund, who will turn 23 next week, recalled in a recent phone interview.

“I graduated early from high school in Scottsdale, Ariz., in December of 2002, came out to L.A. and almost immediately got cast as (Brad Pitt’s buddy) Patroclus in ‘Troy.’ ”

Since then the credits have been rolling in: “Friday Night Lights,” “Four Brothers,” “Eragon” and “Georgia Rules.”

Hedlund’s latest role is his biggest to date. In “Death Sentence” (opening today) he plays the leader of a gang who wages a war of escalating violence against a suburban dad (Kevin Bacon) whose son was a victim of a gang initiation murder.

“Playing a bad guy is fun,” Hedlund said. “You get to unleash a little bit more, dive into your bad conscience. It’s really kind of therapeutic.”

It was also a treat to work with Bacon, although they rarely got to act one-on-one.

“Between takes I’d hang around to watch Kevin work. We got to know each other and were able to hang and chat. We got to know each other as actors. But basically we were hardly ever in the same frame. So when people ask, ‘What’s it like to work with Kevin Bacon?’ I can’t tell them much.”

Hedlund said he tries not to take his rapid success in Hollywood for granted.

“When I moved out here my mom gave me a tub of household cleaning supplies and a big box of Ramen noodles. I never had to dig too deep into the noodles, but every now and then I break out a package and cook them up. It reminds me of how lucky I’ve been.”