Chances are you've seen a lot of Garrett Hedlund these days.
Not only does he star opposite Jeff Bridges and Olivia Wilde in the new sci-fi hit Tron: Legacy, but he plays love interest to Gwyneth Paltrow and Leighton Meester in the soon-to-be released Country Strong.
In the flick, he plays an aspiring singer-songwriter. And yes, that's actually Hedlund singing and playing guitar in the movie. Funny enough...
Hedlund wasn't exactly what anyone would call a trained musician. "I didn't play the guitar or sing, let alone play and sing at the same time," Hedlund says. "I wasn't comfortable by any means. I could play a few chords, but my transitions were horrible. And I only knew maybe three chords."
He trained for months with Neal Casal, the prolific singer-songwriter best known for his work with Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. "We'd meet about four days a week in L.A. and play guitar," Hedlund says. "Then finally I was able to play and sing at the same time and get into the studio to put down some tracks."
"Hedlund is commanding, vulnerable, sexy," reads a story about the Minnesota native in the new issue of W magazine. "And he can sing. Apart from talent and the fact that he's great-looking, the 26-year-old has that ineffable quality—star power."
We couldn't agree more.