Now That Lucas Hedges Is Everywhere, Here's What You Need to Know About Him

Updated on 9/30/2018 at 1:31 PM

You may recognize Lucas Hedges from his roles in critically acclaimed movies Manchester by the Sea, Lady Bird, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but how well do you know the 21-year-old actor? It might seem like he became famous overnight, but did you know that he appeared in his first film, Dan in Real Life, way back in 2007? Or that his one and only line in that movie got cut in postproduction?

He's come a long way since then, as he has finally landed his first leading role in the highly anticipated film Boy Erased. Before the movie premieres in November, we wanted to get to know Lucas a little better, so we rounded up 18 facts about him. From the basics of his biography to the awards he's been nominated for and what's on the horizon for the young actor, we present to you some of our favorite facts about one of Hollywood's rising stars.

He was born on Dec. 12, 1996, in Brooklyn Heights, NY.
His mother is poet and actress Susan Bruce Titman and his father is Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director Peter Hedges (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, About a Boy, Pieces of April).
He has an older brother named Simon.

He grew up in the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill areas of Brooklyn, NY.
He graduated from Saint Ann's School, a private school in Brooklyn.
He also studied acting at both the University of North Carolina School of Arts and the Cherubs Theatre Program at Northwestern University's National High School Institute.

Lucas made his feature film debut as an extra in Dan in Real Life, a film his father directed.
During a middle-school play, Lucas was spotted by the casting director for Wes Anderson's Moonlight Kingdom. He was later cast in the film as Redford.
He won critical acclaim for his role in Manchester by the Sea. That film earned him a Critics' Choice Movie Award for best young performer and a nomination for the Academy Award for best supporting actor.

In 2017, he had supporting roles in Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, both of which were nominated for the Academy Award for best picture.
He made his stage debut as the lead in the off-Broadway play Yen.
Lucas has three films coming out in 2018. He has a supporting role in Mid90s and will be playing the lead character in both Boy Erased and Ben Is Back.

In September 2018, he will make his first appearance on Broadway in a revival of The Waverly Gallery.
He will be appearing in two films in 2019, Honey Boy and Waves.
When asked about his sexuality in an interview with Vulture, Lucas said, "In the early stages of my life, some of the people I was most infatuated with were my closest male friends. That was the case through high school, and I think I was always aware that while for the most part I was attracted to women, I existed on a spectrum," before adding that he exists "on that spectrum: Not totally straight, but also not gay and not necessarily bisexual."

He told W magazine he almost got kicked out of Madonna's Oscars party for taking photos. "I completely forgot so I took a photo and this bodyguard rushes over to me and I've never been so scared in my entire life. I was like, 'I'm so sorry. I'm deleting — look, I'm deleting the photo right now.' And then they had eyes on me for the rest of the party, like, everywhere I went. I was so paranoid and scared."
Besides his family, Lucas said the first person to congratulate him on his Oscar nomination was Gigi Hadid, as the pair were at a photo shoot together. He said, "The first thing Gigi Hadid said to me was like, 'I heard you got nominated for an Oscar. That's sick.' And gave me a high five and it was amazing."
During an interview with GQ, Lucas was asked if he would ever want to write or direct a film. He said it was something he would like to do in the future but it is not something he is pursing at the moment. He then added, "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."