Advertisement

Oscar Nominee Lucas Hedges on Nailing His Boston Accent for 'Manchester by the Sea'

At 20, Lucas Hedges is 2017’s youngest Oscar nominee. The Manchester by the Sea breakout brings some much-needed laughs to the devastating drama as Patrick, the confident, hockey- and basketball-playing, boat-working, wannabe rocker with two girlfriends who falls under the care of his disgruntled uncle (Casey Affleck).

The actor told Yahoo Movies he auditioned for the role five times before finally getting the green light from writer-director Kenneth Lonergan. “It was a part I always wanted,” Hedges said (watch above). “It was one of the best parts I’ve ever read for a kid my age.”

Related: Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams on the Emotionally ‘Painful’ Experience of Making ‘Manchester by the Sea’

For the later auditions, the Brooklyn native had to show he could legitimately pull off a New England accent. “I listened to a lot of ‘S**t Boston Guys Say’ [videos], which is actually very accurate,” Hedges said, laughing.

Plus, he had to flex that accent alongside one of the prides of Beantown, fellow Oscar nominee Casey Affleck. “That was the most intimidating thing about doing the movie,” Hedges admitted. “I’m from Brooklyn, New York, and going to do this movie was so terrifying because Casey’s a real tough kid from Boston, and one of the quintessential Boston actors.”

“I put so much pressure on myself, like I can’t mess this up or Casey Affleck’s gonna think I’m a loser.”

Manchester by the Sea is now in theaters.

Watch 15 Questions With Lucas Hedges: