With director Lee Daniels The United States vs. Billie Holiday now streaming on Hulu, I recently got to speak with Garrett Hedlund about being part of the Golden Globe-winning film. During the wide-ranging conversation Hedlund talked about how Billie Holiday was an early champion of civil rights, Daniels ability to craft great performances, why he loved working with Steven Soderbergh on Mosaic, what he remembers about making Joseph Kosinski's TRON: Legacy, why he’s seen The Cable Guy a hundred times, the reason making Joe Wright’s Pan was such a challenging experience, and more. In addition, he shares a fun story about pranking his co-stars on TRON: Legacy including Daft Punk.
If you’re not familiar with The United States vs. Billie Holiday, which is inspired by Billie Holiday's life story, the film pulls back the curtain on one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time and the way the Federal government targeted her over her efforts to sing "Strange Fruit," a song about lynching’s in the South. The film stars Andra Day as Billie Holiday alongside Trevante Rhodes, Natasha Lyonne, Rob Morgan,Evan Ross, Tyler James Williams, Miss Lawrence, Tone Bell, Erik LaRay Harvey, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
Check out what Garrett Hedlund had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.
Garrett Hedlund:
- What movie has he seen the most?
- What project ended up being a lot more challenging than he expected?
- What similarities do all the directors he has worked with share?
- Why he loved working with Steven Soderbergh on Mosaic.
- What does he remember about making TRON: Legacy?
- Shares a fun story about how he pranked a number of people on the TRON: Legacy set and he started with Daft Punk.
- How Billie Holiday was a very early champion of civil rights.
- How Lee Daniels is able to craft such great performances.
Here's the official synopsis:
The legendary Billie Holiday, one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time, spent much of her career being adored by fans across the globe. Beginning in the 1940’s in New York City, the federal government targeted Holiday in a growing effort to escalate and racialize the war on drugs, ultimately aiming to stop her from singing her controversial and heart-wrenching ballad, “Strange Fruit.” Led by Oscar nominated director Lee Daniels and introducing Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Andra Day, The United States vs. Billie Holiday unapologetically presents the icon’s complicated, irrepressible life. Screenplay Writer Suzan-Lori Parks, the first African American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, pens this intimate tale of a fierce trailblazer whose defiance through music helped usher in the civil rights movement.
