From Farm to TRON: Garrett Hedlund Grows Into a Leading Man

With the back-to-back arrival of "TRON: Legacy" and "Country Strong" in theaters this month, Garrett Hedlund is poised to become one of strongest leading men of his generation.

With his long-lashed azure eyes, milk fed good looks and aw-shucks ease, it's no wonder the 26-year-old has been drawing comparisons to Brad Pitt since his auspicious debut alongside the A-Lister in "Troy," a role Hedlund landed one week after moving to Los Angeles at the age of 18.

Speaking to Hedlund via Skype while he was in Canada filming the role of Dean Moriarity in Walter Salles' adaption of "On the Road," he recalled his childhood on a farm in Minnesota where the only entertainment available was four channels of TV. "We watched Roseanne and Cheers. That was what I grew up with in the world of television and movies," he smiles. "We had one [movie] theatre in our town.  Our town was only 2500 people and we lived 30 miles out on the farm.  My dad has to drive to Fargo to see my films. That's a three hour drive."

Because of that lack of cinematic exposure growing up, Hedlund explains he didn't watch the original "TRON" until 2003, when he was in Malta filming "Troy."

"I just watched on the balcony off of some guy's laptop and I dug it," he said, adding that he was especially impressed by creator Steven Lisberger's vision of a technology dominated society, comparing it to "Brave New World."

"And then, of course, you got the young, energetic, maniacal, Jeff Bridges and all I remember was I just wished I could've hung out with that guy, you know? To my benefit, I got to play father and son was such an incredible, wise actor, and just a brilliant person that he is today. But I wouldn't have minded hanging out with Jeff of 1982 for a few days."

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