The Tulsa King star, 40, is releasing an EP of covers that appeared in seasons 1 and 2 of the Sylvester Stallone–led Paramount+ series, and Us Weekly has an exclusive sneak peek of his take on ZZ Top’s “Tush.” The song appears alongside five other tracks on Tulsa King S. 1-2 — Music From the Original Series, which debuts digitally Friday, October 4.
“When Stallone says sing, I say how high?!” Hedlund told Us. “I’m thrilled we get to deliver these wonderful tunes that were handpicked for the show to add as much to each scene as they have to each respective artist’s fans’ souls.”
The EP also includes Hedlund’s take on the Allman Brothers’ “Ramblin’ Man,” Three Dog Night’s “Never Been to Spain,” Willie Nelson’s “Nothing I Can Do About It Now,” Dean Martin’s “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” and B.J. Thomas’ “Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.”
Hedlund plays Mitch Keller, an ex-con and bar owner who struck up a friendship with Stallone’s character, Dwight “The General” Manfredi, in season 1. Dwight, a Mafia capo, relocates to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after getting out of prison and begins setting up a criminal organization there with help from Mitch, Lawrence “Bodhi” Geigerman (Martin Starr), Tyson Mitchell (Jay Will) and Armand “Manny” Truisi (Max Casella). While Mitch was initially hesitant to get involved in Dwight’s schemes, he eventually becomes one of his most trusted collaborators.
Season 2 of Tulsa King premiered on September 15 and found Dwight in police custody after having been arrested in the season 1 finale. Last month, Hedlund revealed that Mitch would play a larger role in the show’s sophomore season — and in Dwight’s criminal enterprise.
“For this one, Mitch is much more involved because he’s a much bigger part of this empire,” Hedlund told Screen Rant in September. “Now that the empire has been established, he’s a part of it, he’s responsible for it. And so now it’s much more of an all-for-one, one-for-all kind of journey for all of them, which I think is enjoyable to watch. They’re all in it together. Whereas in the first season, they were trying to figure out if they could still trust everyone.”
While casual Hedlund fans may be surprised to learn that he moonlights as a musician, others will remember that he played country singer Beau Hutton in the 2010 film Country Strong, which also starred Leighton Meester, Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw. Hedlund recorded several songs on the movie’s soundtrack, including a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings.”
New episodes of Tulsa King stream Sundays on Paramount+.