Garrett Hedlund: 'Barron's Cove' dad is haunted by the past

UPI

16-06-2025

1 of 5 | Christian Convery (L) and Garrett Hedlund star in the film, "Barron's Cove," now available on video-on-demand platforms. Photo courtesy of Well Go USA
NEW YORK, June 15 (UPI) -- Tulsa King, Country Strong and Friday Night Lights star Garrett Hedlund says that, at the heart of his new crime thriller, Barron's Cove, is a flawed, but loving father with deep sense of self-doubt.
"My son was nearing on 2 years old when I read the script," Hedlund, 40, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"What I realized was Caleb's underbelly through the whole film was him wondering if he was enough as a father and I thought it was so tender and so sweet that a man that had done such badness in his life and had this kind of haunted past, made all these mistakes, was so genuinely wondering if he was enough," he said.
"We're so familiar with seeing kids wondering if they're enough for their parents, but I don't see as many parents wondering if they're enough for their children."
Now available on video-on-demand platforms, the film was written and directed by newcomer Evan Ari Kelman.
It follows Caleb (Hedlund), a grieving father with organized crime connections who kidnaps Ethan (Christian Convery), the spoiled boy he believes is responsible for his young son Barron's death.
Dante Hale plays Barron, while Hamish Linklater plays Lyle, the local politician who coldly adopts Ethan just to improve his popularity with voters, and Brittany Snow plays Jackie, Caleb's heartbroken ex-wife.
Hedlund said he was a fan of Christian's Netflix show, Sweet Tooth, and enjoyed sharing scenes with him, even though most were emotionally intense, with Caleb torturing and terrifying the child to find out exactly what happened to his own.
"He's a talented actor. He's got an illuminated future ahead of him. He's been working steadily. He knows his stuff. He's got an arsenal," Hedlund said.
"He's got a tool shed of everything that he needs and is well-equipped for any journey, so he and I got to just sit back in between takes and have fun."
Christian's tech-obsessed character, however, simply radiated "entitlement" as he is questioned about how Barron ended up tragically tied to train tracks between his school and his home, Hedlund emphasized.
"The lack of empathy is very interesting," he said, pointing to how Christian, like some real-life kids, doesn't seem to understand the word "no" or respect others because there are no consequences to his actions.
"If you look at it through that moral lens, that a kid in this day and age, in this generation, with screens and monitors and everything, if they're so consumed with that and that's what life is, they have no awareness of the impact of their actions," he added. "To them, there's nothing dissimilar to a video game."
No matter what the role is, Hedlund said he tries to give it 100 percent of his effort, then leaves it behind when it's time to move on to the next job.
"I had a pretty good idea of what I was doing it for, what attracted me to the film, whose hands I was in and, then, what they would allow me to do. So, I just tried to elevate everything that was on the page," Hedlund said about Barron's Cove.
"When you feel like you've done something or relate just a fragment of what a guy like this would express as he's going through such events, you're able to put it down, focus on the next day," he added.
"I would struggle more to put it down had I shorted myself on screen every day or been too afraid to express an emotion. But, I love these films and, no matter if it's a thriller, I still always look at it like it's any other drama."
Tramell Tillman, Raúl Castillo and Stephen Lang co-star.