Garrett Hedlund: is he Troy’s real Trojan horse?

When word spread last year that Garrett Hedlund, 19 years old and fresh from Minnesota, had arrived in Los Angeles and scored a role in the colossal epic Troy on his first audition, movie insiders were abuzz: Who is this guy?
Hedlund got an early start in acting on his parents’ farm, breaking up daily monotony by imitating people behind their backs. After graduating from high school and relocating to California, he won the part of the young warrior Patroclus, opposite Brad Pitt and Eric Bana, and discovered he had something in common with fellow Midwesterner Pitt: the challenge of proving there was more to him than meets the eye. “I’ve been told I’m too good-looking for certain roles, but that’s okay,” laughs the actor, who plays a high school football player in the upcoming drama Friday Night Lights. “It just motivates me to go deeper.” Some guys have all the luck.