Lucas Hedges found himself in a difficult situation. Oscar winner Julia Roberts was championing him for the lead role of 19-year-old struggling addict Ben Burns in the feature film "Ben Is Back." She had seen Hedges' work in "Manchester by the Sea" and was certain he would be the perfect actor to portray her son.
There was just the little matter of the film being written by Peter Hedges ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape"), the actor's father. Lucas Hedges has been firm over the years in his decision not to work with his father. It wouldn't be until much later that he found out his father wrote the role with his son in mind.
In the end, it was Roberts' fight that helped the young actor get past his qualms. That set up another difficult situation. Once he got on set, Hedges had to decide if he was more interested in impressing Roberts to prove her faith in him was correct or trying to win favor with his father.
The answer came during the week before filming started where cast and crew traveled to Roberts' home in California to rehearse.
"Over the course of that week, she stopped being somebody I needed to impress and became somebody who I felt like really believed in me and held a similar position as a mother would," Hedges says. "So I would say I ended up working harder to impress my dad in many ways.
"He was on the other side of the camera and I was getting to act opposite of her. So, there was more unknown with him."
The motherly vibe Hedges got from Roberts was key to playing the role. Ben arrives unannounced from rehab at his family's suburban home on Christmas Eve. His mother, Holly (Roberts), is happy to see her son but is also fearful Ben won't be able to stay clean, having been through the nightmare of his drug use countless times before.
Ben gets 24 hours to prove he has changed, a prospect that's threatened when his past comes roaring back with dangerous possibilities.
Hedges found his father to be a generous and accommodating director who supported him through every moment.
"I felt like he carried us through the film and I am so grateful for that," Hedges says.
After getting past his hero worship of Roberts and concerns about his father, Hedges began extensive research to get a better understanding of how a person can be so driven by his addictions. Some research included Hedges' friends from high school who have been in and out of rehab. This helped him see the truths of what both Ben and Holly would be facing.
"Going into the project, the main thing was to make it feel as real as possible," Hedges says. "That's why both Julia and I fell in love with the script. It felt real.
"I think Ben comes home with the expectation of it being one thing and then things take a turn for him and it has to do with the fact that life becomes unmanageable again. I think he comes home with good intentions. Ben really thinks he's doing the right thing, but things can change on a dime if you are filled with that much self-hatred and the world doesn't trust you."
Finding the truth in a story has been a constant theme in the career of the New York native. In six short years, he has appeared in the critically heralded feature films "Moonrise Kingdom," "Lady Bird," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "Kill the Messenger." He picked up a Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar nomination for "Manchester by the Sea" and a Golden Globe nod for "Boy Erased."
Hedges suggests landing the roles has a lot to do with luck.
"I auditioned for a lot of movies that I didn't get that didn't turn out well. It's not that I've been a picky kid from the start, but it's just how it happened to end up going down," Hedges says. "I also think I have good taste and I am not going to audition for something that I don't think will be special.
"I just try to listen to my intuition and for whatever reason that hasn't seemed to guide me astray."
