Garrett Hedlund takes a walk in a villain’s shoes

From his scenic pied-a-terre in Los Angeles, actor Garrett Hedlund is on the phone, lecturing an audience of one on the art of a good death scene.

There is, of course, the moribund shiver. Or that other time-honored favorite, the “it’s so dark and cold” lament followed by a moan or perhaps a light sob. Lately, the muscle spasm has come into vogue.

All fine death-scene methods, but Hedlund is partial to the gurgle — the wet, bloody gurgle he perfected in a Mexico hotel room shortly before expiring in Brad Pitt’s arms as the doomed protege Patroclus in Wolfgang Petersen’s Homeric war epic “Troy.” Yes, it was Helen’s beauty that launched a thousand ships, but it was the gurgle that turned the tide of battle.

“I’ve had a few now,” says the one-time Scottsdale resident says of his on-screen expirations. “But that one was special. I stayed up all night, lying on the floor, getting it just right.”

As it happens, death is the dominant theme in Hedlund’s latest big-screen effort, the aggrieved-dad revenge thriller “Death Sentence.” Hedlund — frequently cast as a flaxen-haired golden boy (“Friday Night Lights,” “Georgia Rule”) — is virtually unrecognizable as Billy Darley, a tattooed drug kingpin who launches a vendetta against a mild-mannered insurance executive (Kevin Bacon).

With his bald head and junkyard snarl, Billy cuts a deeply menacing figure, but it wasn’t the character’s villainy, per se, that drew Hedlund to the project. It was human nuance — in this case, a dead brother and a loveless father (John Goodman) — lurking under Billy’s villainous, inhuman veneer that made the role most appealing.

“It was the emotional structure of the character,” says Hedlund, 23. “He was born into the life, the gangs and thugs. Like all of us, he has a fuse, and it was lit. That side is in everybody. It’s in me. Maybe not right now. Maybe not in L.A. or Arizona. But it’s there.”

Lit fuse or no, Hedlund is blowing up. Just five years ago, he was an ordinary — albeit extraordinarily ambitious — East Valley teenager. Born and raised in Minnesota, Hedlund moved to Arizona after his freshman year to live with his mother. Immediately, he began to invent himself as a creative spirit and purveyor of the pop arts.

Crisscrossing the Valley in his yellow Geo Storm hatchback with no air conditioning, the Horizon High sophomore would frequent all-ages punk rock shows at the Nile and Nina’s Hideaway, hoping to score work as an event photographer.

He also took drama classes. And found them to his liking, though to this day he’s not exactly sure why.

“It might have been breaking up with a girl, it might have been being the new kid, hard to say,” he says. “But I think going to my first drama class broke me out of being 100 percent sarcastic all the time. It was how I finally learned to be honest.”

After winning a modeling contest (which his mother surreptitiously entered him in), Hedlund aggressively pursued agency representation and started auditioning in Los Angeles. He cleaned out his bank account paying for cheap Southwest round-trip tickets. He camped out at Kinko’s, mailing head shots.

He was only in 10th grade.

Scottsdale acting coach Jean Fowler, whose past clients include Jenny Garth (“Beverly Hills 90210”) and Amy Davidson (“8 Simple Rules”) was immediately taken by Hedlund’s charisma and focus.

“When he came in, he was a very talented kid. You could see it from the get-go,” says Fowler. “He was so disciplined and driven. So willing to do whatever it took.”

Armed with an audition tape — humorously, of a monologue from the 1998 teen party flick “Can’t Hardly Wait” — Hedlund got his agent, and the jobs quickly followed. First, the high-profile debut as Patroclus in “Troy” (2004). Then, acting opposite Billy Bob Thornton as angst-ridden star quarterback in “Friday Night Lights” (2005). Another death scene followed in “Four Brothers” (2005), followed by a heroic supporting turn in “Eragon” (2006) and the unenviable distinction of playing Lindsay Lohan’s boy toy in “Georgia Rule” earlier this year.

With his resume suitably padded, Hedlund lobbied hard for “Death Sentence,” the follow-up feature from “Saw” director James Wan. His resolve doubled when Wan added a “poetic ending” missing from previous screenplay drafts. The result: Hedlund’s most unusual, and best, performance. In a sense, it’s his “Monster” — the kind of ugly, meaty role that exposes the substance behind the pretty face.

Though he’s worked regularly for the last three years, Hedlund evinces little patience. Hungrily waiting for his next job, he seems very conscious of his professional legacy.
“We’re figuring on some things,” he says. “I wish they could speed up.”

So much time. So many death scenes left to do.

August 30, 2007 By Craig Outhier, Get Out