For someone who’s starred prominently in no fewer than three Oscar-nominated films by the time most are still at university, the name of Lucas Hedges perhaps isn’t one of the best-known names in cinema at the moment, but maybe it ought to be.

At the age of 11, the American youngster was cast in a cameo role in his father’s 2007 film Dan In Real Life – though apparently his one and only line in the film was lopped out in post-production – brutal!

As a teenager, he was tapped by Wes Anderson for minor parts in two of his movies, 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom and 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

However, his big break came as the role of a young Patrick in 2016’s stark Manchester By The Sea, which required him to be emotionally shut down and clammed-up, and under the direction of filmmaker/playwright Kenneth Lonergan. At just 19 years old, he had landed his first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Lucas HedgesLucas Hedges is one of the most accomplished young actors in Hollywood

“I think I was born to be a clown,” he told Interview magazine just after his breakout. “I just haven’t figured out how to bring that side of myself into the world of filmmaking. It’s much more comfortable for me to cry on a film set than it is to tell a joke.”

Having landed such a prominent and celebrated part in Manchester By The Sea, a 19 year old Hedges was tapped by filmmaker Greta Gerwig for a part in Lady Bird, which has arguably been his most accomplished role to date. For those who’ve not seen it, he gets to play the crappy high-school boyfriend and a gay man, and brings passion to both aspects while blocking out the clichéd tropes that many movies often fall into while trying to portray those kinds of characters.

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On top of that, Hedges also starred in another heavily tipped Oscars movie last year, this time the sulky but quick-witted son of Frances McDormand in Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Although he’s landed a pretty glittering career path, Hedges hasn’t even 100% made up his mind yet whether he wants to commit himself to acting, having dropped out of college to take up the Lady Bird role. However, he sees writing and directing in his future, if he does.

“Definitely, eventually, but not something that I'm pursuing at this moment,” he told GQ at the end of last year, in the context of an interview about the innovative writing behind Lady Bird. “I still sort of feel like a bit of a teenager. I feel very scattered, and, honestly, I just feel like the acting right now.”

Hedges’ next films are set to be roles in Ben Is Back, Mid90s and Boy Erased, all due out by the end of 2018, and Honey Boy in 2019, which is in post-production.

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