The Top Ten Lucas Hedges Movies (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

It seems that if you need a sad boy for your film, there is only one number to call. Lucas Hedges has made his career out of playing a troubled teen. Whether he plays a teenager struggling with his sexuality or a high school coping with the death of his father, you know you will get a powerful performance from the twenty-three-year-old Brooklyn native.

While he mainly appeared in supporting roles in most of the movies on this list, he delivers in all of them.  These movies are ranked in order of their rotten tomatoes score, but in each one, you will find great acting on the part of Hedges, regardless of his age.

10 Mid 90s – 81%

In this coming of age story written and directed by Jonah Hill, Hedges plays Ian, the older brother of the main character, Stevie (Sunny Suljic). This movie is both heartwarming and upsetting as you are witness to the tumultuous upbringing of two young boys. Stevie is thirteen years old and is perpetually beaten by his older brother who is dealing with issues of his own. In Ian’s attempt to cope with his own emotions, he takes them out on Stevie. Lacking any sort of role model in his life, Stevie begins to hang out with a group of local skateboarders who view him as their collective little brother.

9 Boy Erased – 81%

This is another coming of age story, but this time, Hedges is the main character. In this 2018 film, Hedges plays Jared Eamons, who is based on Garrard Conley, the author of the memoir this movie is based on.

Directed by Joel Edgerton, it tells the story of a young man who is dealing with the drama of being outed as gay to his parents. The son of a Baptist pastor is sent to a conversion therapy program where he struggles with learning to accept himself.

8 Ben Is Back – 82%

For this one, Lucas is in a film that is written and directed by his father, Peter. Hedges stars alongside Julia Roberts and plays a nineteen-year-old Ben Burns. He shows up out of the blue at home on Christmas Eve, after an absence that left many thinking he may be gone forever. Ben’s mom, Holly, is overjoyed that her son is home, but she is also filled with anxiety because she cannot ignore his drug addiction. Over the next twenty-four hours, Holly ties herself to Ben’s hip and her undying love comes to light as many truths are revealed and she fights to keep her son clean.

7 Waves – 83%

The second A24 film on this list is set in South Florida. Waves chronicles the journey of a suburban Black family. Sterling K. Brown plays an intense father with good intentions as he tries to lead his family on an emotional path following a loss. This heartwrenching story presents the themes of compassion and growth, even during trying times. Hedges plays the love interest of Brown’s character’s daughter. It is a small part, but his presence is felt in each of the scenes he is in.

6 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – 90%

Just a great move by Hedges taking by taking a role in this movie. By 2017 he undoubtedly could have had a leading role in another movie, but by appearing in this movie, he gets an education in acting. He plays the son of Frances McDormand, who is at war with the local authorities in the wake of her daughter’s murder. She squares off with Woody Harrelson and then Sam Rockwell as she demands answers as the weeks go by and the murder remains unsolved. Hedges plays his part perfectly, providing a great portrayal of what a teenager grieving for his sister and mother would be going through. Rockwell and McDormand each won an Oscar for their performances, proving the reps Hedges got with them are worth taking a small part.

5 The Grand Budapest Hotel – 91%

In the first of two Wes Anderson films on the list, Hedges appears in a supporting role. Relatively unknown at the time, this is another example Hedges afforded the opportunity to act in a great ensemble. He plays nothing more than a pump attendant, but he got to be apart of a film that was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four.

The story surrounds Gustave, the concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel, a popular ski resort in the 1930s. When one of the guests dies, Gustave finds himself both the inheritor of a priceless work of art and the chief suspect in the investigation of her murder.

4 Moonrise Kingdom – 93%

The second Wes Anderson film on this lest earned him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. A fifteen-year-old Hedges plays a khaki scout on the island of New Penzance. With a storm quickly approaches the island off the coast of New England, the scour troop, led by Edward Norton is sent into a panic. When one of the boys in the troop runs away with a local girl, the scouts and local authorities are set on an adventure to safely bring them home. Bill Murray and Bruce Willis also lead the charge to bring the children home safely.

3 Honey Boy – 94%

In this Amazon studios film, Hedges has a much more prominent role than in some of the other films on this list. This film tells the story of a child actor named Otis (Noah Jupe). He lives with his father (Shia LaBeouf). Hedges plays Otis as a young man, during the phase of his life where he has to deal with the trauma that his well-intentioned father put him through as a youth. The film covers the span of a decade, in which Otis rises to prominence, outgrows his father, and falls into darker days filled with substance abuse. Hedges delivers a powerful performance, the agony he displays can be felt through the screen.

2 Manchester By The Sea – 96%

Lucas is one of the leads in this film, that is guaranteed to make you cry. Hedges plays Patrick, a high schooler who is dealing with the sudden loss of his father (Kyle Chandler). In need of a guardian, his uncle, Lee (Casey Affleck), comes to live with him. While Lee and Patrick were once close when Patrick was little, they had grown distant over the years following a tragedy in Lee’s life. The two learn to live with one another and try to help each other cope with the grief they share. Hedges was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for this performance and is able to hold is own on-screen with Chandler, and Affleck, who won Best Actor.

1 Lady Bird – 99%

This is not a Lucas Hedges movie, it is without a doubt a Saoirse Ronan movie. That being said, Hedges does play a key part. Hedges plays Danny, the high school love interest of Ronan’s character, Lady Bird. Her world comes crashing down when she walks in on Danny being intimate with a male classmate. Danny begs Lady Bird to keep his secret, and she does out of compassion and empathy. The chemistry the two of them share on screen is heartwarming.

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