Awards Lucas Hedges, 20, Gushes That Attending the Oscars as a Nominee Is 'Out of a Fairytale' At 20 years old, Lucas Hedges is this year's youngest acting nominee. Still, he's been preparing for his big Academy Award moment for quite a while By Jordan Runtagh Jordan Runtagh Twitter Jordan Runtagh is an Executive Podcast Producer at iHeartRadio, where he hosts a slate of pop culture shows including Too Much Information, Inside the Studio, Off the Record and Rivals: Music's Greatest Feuds. Previously, he served as a Music Editor at PEOPLE and VH1.com. He's written about art and entertainment for more than a decade, regularly contributing to outlets like Rolling Stone and Entertainment Weekly, and appearing as a guest on radio and television. Over the course of his career, he's profiled the surviving Beatles, Brian Wilson, Aretha Franklin, Roger Waters, David Byrne, Pete Townshend, Debbie Harry, Quincy Jones, Brian May, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Taylor and many more. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he lives in Brooklyn, where he can be found DJing '60s soul records. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 26, 2017 06:05 PM Share Tweet Pin Email At just 20 years old, Lucas Hedges is the youngest acting nominee among the 2017 Oscar hopefuls. Still, he’s been preparing for his big Academy Award red carpet moment for more than a decade. “My dad was nominated for an Oscar 13 years ago and I came with him as his plus-one,” he told Ryan Seacrest during the E! pre-show red carpet broadcast. Hedges’ father, Peter Hedges, scored a Best Adapted Screenplay nod in 2002 for About a Boy. “Oscars were our Super Bowl,” he continues with a smile. “To be here is really kind of out of a fairytale.” While his dad lost out to Ronald Harwood for The Pianist that year, perhaps the younger Hedges’ performance in Manchester by the Sea will nab a golden statue for the family mantle. Check out PEOPLE’s full 2017 Academy Awards coverage and complete winners list! In January, Hedges told PEOPLE about the big moment when he learned he was up for a nomination. RELATED VIDEO: If Lucas Hedges Wasn’t an Actor What Would He Do? “I was just lying in bed when I found out,” he said. “I jumped out of bed screaming, ‘Mom, Dad I was nominated!’ ” As expected, the moment proved extremely emotional for both of his parents — but especially for his film industry father. “My dad hopped out of the shower and put some clothes on soaking wet and just started crying.” The Academy Awards kicks off live on ABC on Sunday with a 7 p.m. ET pre-show and 8:30 p.m. ceremony. See all the Oscar nominees and get your own ballot here!