Garrett Hedlund and Emma Roberts Name Tim McGraw as Godfather to Son Rhodes

Garrett Hedlund and Emma Roberts recently welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Rhodes Robert. During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week, Hedlund revealed that he and Roberts had chosen Tim McGraw to be their son’s godfather, a decision they apparently didn’t make themselves.

“He’s the best,” Hedlund said of McGraw. “After around 12 weeks of Emma being pregnant, I called him, and the first thing he said was, ‘I’m the godfather.’ So, how can you argue?” Hedlund and McGraw have known each other for over 15 years, having starred together in 2004’s Friday Night Lights and 2010’s Country Strong. “He’s somebody that I admire and respect, not only as an amazing father and an amazing husband, amazing musician and amazing actor,” Hedlund said. “I’ve known him for a long time.”

“We laugh about it because it’s probably been over 17 years since we did Friday Night Lights together; we played father and son,” he recalled. “So I got to first experience him as a father — in that film, somewhat more of an abusive one — but then we did Country Strong together, and we’ve remained such close friends and, you know, I’ve seen his children, his daughters, from the time they were 1, 3 and 5.” McGraw and wife Faith Hill share three daughters, Gracie, Maggie and Audrey, who are now 23, 22 and 19, respectively. After Clarkson noted that McGraw has “a lot of estrogen rocking that household,” Hedlund joked, “he feels sometimes singled out.”

McGraw recently reflected on working with Hedlund when he shared a montage of some of his past movies on social media last week, including scenes from Friday Night Lights and Country Strong. “Had some great opportunities in my career to work with some incredible actors,” McGraw captioned the video.

Roberts confirmed her pregnancy in August, and a source told PEOPLE that Hedlund has “stepped it up” since Rhodes’ arrival. “Having a newborn in the pandemic has been a lot harder than either of them expected, but they’re really, really trying their best to figure things out,” the source said. “Garrett totally stepped it up after Emma was still recovering after giving birth. He made sure that their house was stocked with things that Emma liked and needed, so she felt comfortable. She’s just starting to get back into a more ‘normal’ routine.”