Garrett Hedlund’s Sweetest Quotes About Fatherhood: ‘Changed My Life’

Garrett Hedlund shares son Rhodes Robert with ex-girlfriend Emma Roberts and has revealed some major insight about fatherhood since welcoming his baby boy in December 2020.

“You are truly, ‘Where The Roses Grow!’” Hedlund wrote in a December 2022 Instagram caption when celebrated Rhodes’ 2nd birthday. “I Love You More than Anything else my eyes will ever see!!!”

During an interview with Today in August 2021, Hedlund confirmed that he was the one who chose Rhodes’ name.

“My father, before he passed away, we had a three-week road trip and so it was roads,” he said at the time. “And my grandfather and I used to go on rowing trips, so ‘Row’ for short and then Emma and I are avid readers, so Rhodes scholar, but really it’s just rodeo.”

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Ahead of Father’s Day in 2025, the actor teased his “beautiful” plans with Rhodes.

“If I was working every single day that week, the little man was gonna come down and we’d journey all throughout Georgia,” Hedlund told E! News at the time. “But it looks like it might be a nice little getaway to the farm.”

While they’ll be having a low-key celebration, Rhodes is no stranger to his dad’s Hollywood life. Hedlund has often shared photos with his son on various sets, even posting a photo of Rhodes alongside Sylvester Stallone on the Tulsa King set.

Keep scrolling for Hedlund’s sweetest quotes about being a dad:

Changing His Life

“I snap awake every morning to see his first smile and every morning he smiles so big when he sees me and I think it really dives into acknowledging the power of appreciation,” Hedlund said during an August 2021 appearance on Today. “It’s changed how I look forward to every day. It’s changed how I look forward to work, my job and every situation.”

He added, “He really makes me think of ‘I get to do this,’ and it’s really changed my life for every better way.”

Lifelong Besties

“I’ve got a best friend for life with this little man,” Hedlund told Page Six in November 2022. “He never ceases to amaze me. We just have the greatest time.”

Impacting His Roles

Hedlund spoke a lot about fatherhood while promoting the June 2025 movie Barron’s Cove, in which he plays a dad who loses his son.

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“My son was 2 when we were shooting this,” he told MovieWeb at the time. “Obviously, it’s a very hard subject matter, but it made it easy for me to ask questions of what would I do in this situation? Ultimately, there were no bounds and limitations when you love your child as much as you do.”

Bringing His Son on Set

“My son got to watch me get hit by the car, and he laughed so hard,” Hedlund told E! News in June 2025. “He had no idea what was going on in the story, obviously, and won’t for years to come. But for him, Barron’s Cove represents Daddy being hit by a car.”

Watching His Movies

Hedlund said during the same interview that Rhodes has seen him in 2004’s Troy.

“I’m like, ‘There’s dad! There’s dad!’ It’s so sweet for him,” the actor added. “He’s seen things like Pan, and he gets so giddy. He’s trying to fathom it, but I could understand that a part of it would just seem like Daddy’s in a box.”