Garrett Hedlund is a father falling down a rabbit hole of grief, and Stephen Lang is both friend and foe to him, in Taylor Sheridan's Tulsa King. Lang, a renowned character actor, is better known for his antagonistic roles, particularly Quaritch in the Avatar movies and Norman/The Blind Man in the Don't Breathe franchise.

Written and directed by Evan Ari Kelman, Hedlund leads Barron's Cove as Caleb, a man who works for his mafia uncle, Lang's Benji, while trying to maintain a relationship with his son, the titular Barron. When his son is found dead, run over by a train, Caleb's grief is exacerbated when he learns of a boy who may have the answer to Barron's death, leading to a harrowing confrontation between the two, as well as darker family secrets being unearthed. Alongside Hedlund and Lang, the ensemble Barron's Cove cast includes Pitch Perfect's Brittany Snow, Sweet Tooth's Christian Convery, Manhunt's Hamish Linklater and Smile 2's Raúl Castillo.

In anticipation of the movie's release, ScreenRant interviewed Garrett Hedlund and Stephen Lang to discuss Barron's Cove. The duo opened up about the movie's haunting and powerful reflections on grief and how far a parent would go to get justice for their children, as well as collaborating with one another for their characters' dynamic, and their takes on the movie's ending. Hedlund also weighed in on his potential Tron: Ares return, while Lang shared an update on the previously revealed Don't Breathe 3.

Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Barron's Cove!

Hedlund's Own Parenting Had A Major Influence On His Barron's Cove Performance

Lang Had "Never Read A Script Quite Like" The Thriller

With the movie's heart-wrenching journey of a father looking for justice regarding his son's death, it would be understandable for its themes to resonate deeply with real parents, particularly Hedlund, who is himself a father. In reflecting on this parallel, Hedlund acknowledged that his being a parent "greatly influenced" his interest in both wanting to take on the role of Caleb, and his performance in the film, while also having "kind of simplified it" by raising the question of "What would you do" in the character's shoes.

"And hopefully the audience is asking themselves, 'How far would you go for your child? Would you see yourself in this man's shoes? How far is too far when you think you're right?'," Hedlund explained. "This was a particular one, even though the story is a thriller, I still treat them all as any other dramatic piece that I've done. I moved out to location a month before to try and add in, in any and every capacity, what I could that was on the page and that wasn't on the page, and really sat down and continuously asked myself that question."

Both Hedlund and Lang also had a lot of praise for writer/director Evan Ari Kelman's work on the movie's script, with the former being "just so impressed by this man, by his intelligence, his wisdom, his cool, calm and collected [personality]", denoting he hadn't "seen any director that calm and unfazed on set" since Tron: Legacy's Joseph Kosinski. Lang echoed that while the movie's script was "gnarly", and that he had "never read a script quite like it", he found the way Barron's Cove "was founded on and in grief" interesting, and Kelman to be a "marvelous director" he was "willing to take a shot" on.

"I know there are films that have been made about [grief], but it was sort of new to me," Lang expressed. "It starts off with an 'Oh, my God' moment, and things just kind of ratchet up and tighten up ever after that as we kind of earn our way through this very difficult narrative. So, I thought that was really interesting. And I somehow suspected that a guy, Evan, who could write a script this powerful and this strong would probably do a pretty good job directing it as well."

The fact that this is a first feature to me is kind of mind-blowing in a way, because it's not an easy narrative to tell.

Lang also expressed his excitement about getting to work with Hedlund as being part of why he wanted to the film, calling the Tulsa King star "a wonderful actor" and delighted at getting to "go toe-to-toe with him", or, as he said with a laugh, "toe-to-chin, because's a big fella". He also explained that he "just loves to act", and that "if there's a part that I think I can put my thumbprint on, I'm going to do it".

Caleb's Journey Is About Both Forgiveness & Justice

He's Also The Only One Who Benji Allows To Push Back Against Him

Between his current criminal standing and apparent history of violence, Caleb is certainly a morally complex character for audiences to follow, particularly when he kidnaps Christian Convery's Ethan in the hopes of finding out the truth about his son's death. As Hedlund explains, the question of Caleb's motives "really becomes the heartbeat of the film", explaining that there are "so many little events" throughout the film that not only put them in a different light, but also highlight his character's struggles over wondering "if he did enough as a father".

One scene that he points to as a key example of such is at the end, in the final conversation Caleb has with Raúl Castillo's Detective Navarro, in which he reveals that Ethan killing Caleb was because he "was just jealous of how much Barron had talked about how much he loves his father". This also acts as a semblance of closure for Caleb's journey, as "with his son came the opportunity to make that buck stop here", and so he "felt compelled to provide and redefine the future for this child" and "imposes this pressure upon him to do everything right".

"There's an insecurity there that, 'Has he done enough?'," Hedlund explained. "There were so many beautiful scenes that we had shot that kind of expressed this much more. But, with the condensed timeframes nowadays with some of these films and theater times, a lot of those scenes fell victim to the editing room. There still remains a lot of these scenes, but there's such beauty in a man that seems so hard on the surface, that deep down, genuinely, is insecure and terrified if he's indeed enough where it matters."

One important figure in Caleb's journey is that of his uncle, Benji, Lang's intimidating mafia boss, who also tries to offer both emotional and resources in the wake of Barron's death. As to how he went about balancing the intimidation with the care of Benji, Lang explains it to be a combination of "his strengths", "his power" and his "dog-eat-dog kind of attitude about life" with "a certain kind of paternalism towards Caleb", particularly after he took his nephew under his wing shortly after his brother's death.

"He's known this guy, he's helped this guy, he's watched him his entire life, and he's known him his entire life," Lang explained. "He's got, in so far as Benji is capable, a soft spot for this guy, and Benji doesn't have a whole lot of soft spots for a whole lot of people. So that's the mix, the emotional cocktail that I think is there, and then getting on set with Garrett, it really is just a question of being there, responding as we work together, because he's a very present actor."

Praising Hedlund for delivering a "beautifully modulated" and "unbridled" performance, Lang goes on to explain that his task during filming was "to ride that wave, contribute to that wave" and "contour it". There were a few scenes, in particular, in which Lang felt that dynamic click between him and Hedlund, one of which is when Benji tells Caleb he's "not going to do anything without my permission", only for Caleb to respond with "I'm not asking for your permission".

"That's a tough moment between these two, because, under different circumstances, he wouldn't let that go by for a minute," Lang expressed. "'Don't you talk to me that way. How f----ng dare you talk to f----ng me like that.' He wouldn't let that go under other circumstances. He does, and it's interesting, and that has to do with playing it with Garrett, as we felt it out together."

Another, as Lang recalls, is the first scene between them when Caleb returns from a job and Benji asks him to go back to the site to collect payment, much to the former's disappointment, knowing he's meant to pick up his son. Lang praised how Hedlund was able to showcase "his strengths" and "his weaknesses" in just one scene, establishing the complicated dynamic between the two. Lastly, Lang looks to the scene in which Navarro shows up during Barron's funeral at the same time the news reveals the official declaration that his death was a suicide, in which "Caleb goes ballistic on these guys".

I'm holding him back, and you can't see it, but during that scene, he kicked me so hard in the shin. [Laughs] That's what I . I think there may be a moment in there where I actually go cross-eyed for a second, but he was going, and his foot came back right into my right into my ankle, my shin, and I was like, "Ahh, that hurts." We finally cut, and I never said a word.

Caleb's Death Was Ordered By Benji For A Clear Reason

Both Hedlund & Lang Do, However, See A Positive Side To The Ending

After having successfully worked with Navarro to get Hamish Linklater's Lyle arrested for his attempt to kill Ethan, Caleb is arrested and set to go to prison, though his police drivers stop in an alley and leave while two hitmen walk up and kill him off-camera. With Barron's Cove having featured a variety of corrupt enemies for the protagonist, it's left largely unanswered as to who ordered Caleb's death. However, both Hedlund and Lang confirmed Benji was the one who did so, with the former laughing as he calls them "good family".

"The uncle felt like he had busted his a-- to get to where he is," Hedlund explained, "and then set the structure up for all of his mischievous businesses and runnings to work like a well-oiled machine, and everything was finally going right, and Caleb was the only one that could stand in the way of this and expose the villain." Lang echoed this sentiment, even recalling Benji's line in the movie "You've disobeyed me for the last time. I told you if I see your face again, I'm going to kill you".

Despite the apparently sad conclusion to his story, though, both Lang and Hedlund found there to be a happier side to the movie's ending, with the latter acknowledging "at the end of the day, all he really wanted was to be reunited with his son", which is seen as Caleb embraces Barron before the movie cuts to black. Lang similarly feels that this was an intentional choice on Benji's part, thinking "he's doing him a favor".

His life is over to me, and maybe that's pure rationalization on my part. However, I will say the film ends the only way it possibly could end. It ends for Caleb, and that's because Benji is the one who facilitates that, brings it about. And let's not forget, Caleb ends up with a smile on his face, and it's probably the first smile we've seen in the entire film. So Benji ain't such a bad guy, is he? [Chuckles]

Hedlund Wants To "Let That Ambiguity Rest" Of Whether Sam Will Be Back For Tron: Ares

The Legacy Star Is Also "Very Excited" For The Franchise's Return

Looking beyond Barron's Cove, one of Hedlund's beloved roles remains that of Sam Flynn, son of Jeff Bridges' Kevin, in Tron: Legacy, with the 2010 sequel's ending on an open note for him to return in the Tron: Ares. When asked about his potential appearance in it, Hedlund instead wanted to "let that ambiguity rest right up there in the ether", but expressed being "very excited to see what they've done with Ares", particularly after the various hardships the threequel has encountered.

"They worked so tremendously hard to get this one made," Hedlund warmly expressed. "They dealt with the obstacles of COVID, the strike, and still got to the other side. I'm excited. I'm excited, and it spreads the love and the reach for The Grid. It's astounding how much time has gone on since Legacy. But I'm excited that audiences get another injection of Tron, and the programs, and the disc, and The Grid, and a little spice of Bridges."

Don't Breathe 3 Has Seen "Some Backward Progress" Since Being Revealed In 2022

"I Hope We Do It, Because I'd Really Like To Kill The Old Buzzard Off."​​​​

While Lang has remained busy with James Cameron's Avatar franchise, another popular series under his belt has been Don't Breathe, which he indicated in late 2022 was coming back with a third movie. In the time since, there haven't been many updates, and in talking with us, Lang reveals "there was some backward progress on it for a while". However, he did remain optimistic that "it's possible things will move forward", while also indicating "there's a concept" already set for what the third movie will be.

As to how it will proceed, Lang its it will be "a hard thing" putting all the pieces together for Don't Breathe 3, particularly as he, Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues want to create "something really complete" and that is "very different" from the previous two films, just as they were different to each other. He also points out the "really smart" duo's busy schedule as being a hurdle, as "they've been busy with a lot of stuff", including the 2024 hit Alien: Romulus.

"They're hot, so it's hard," Lang expressed, "but I talked to them within the last couple of months and there's some minimal progress. I hope we do it, because I'd really like to kill the old buzzard off. [Laughs]"

Barron's Cove is now in select theaters and on VOD!