Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon Bridges is an American actor. He is best known for his leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning more than seven decades, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three BAFTA Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, he was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Born into a prominent acting family, Bridges appeared on the television series Sea Hunt alongside his father, Lloyd, and brother, Beau. He made his feature film debut in the drama Halls of Anger, and starred in The Last Picture Show, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination. As a leading man, he starred in the adventure film King Kong ; neo-noir Cutter's Way ; science fiction film Tron ; thrillers Jagged Edge and The Morning After ; dramas The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Fisher King, and The Mirror Has Two Faces ; and crime comedy The Big Lebowski.
Bridges received further Oscar nominations for his roles in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Starman, The Contender, True Grit, and Hell or High Water ; and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as an alcoholic singer in Crazy Heart. He has also starred in big-budget films, such as Seabiscuit, Iron Man, and Tron: Legacy. On television, he earned Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in the HBO film A Dog Year, and the FX series The Old Man.
Early life and education
Bridges was born on December 4, 1949, in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and actress and writer Dorothy Bridges. He is one of four children: older brother Beau Bridges, who is also an actor; a younger sister Lucinda; and a brother named Garrett, who died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1948. His maternal grandfather was an immigrant from Liverpool, England.Bridges and his siblings were raised in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles. He shared a close relationship with his brother Beau, who acted as a surrogate father when their father was working. He graduated from University High School in 1967. At age 17 he toured with his father in a stage production of Anniversary Waltz, and then moved to New York City, where he studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio. He also served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve as a boatswain's mate from 1967 to 1975 in San Luis Obispo, California, with a terminal rating of Boatswain's Mate Second Class.
Career
1951–1970: Early roles
Bridges made his first screen appearance in an uncredited role in The Company She Keeps ; the film was released shortly after his first birthday. In his youth, Bridges and his brother Beau made occasional appearances on their father's show Sea Hunt and the CBS anthology series The Lloyd Bridges Show. In 1965, he played a supporting role alongside his father in an episode of The Loner. In 1969, he played Job Corps crew member Cal Baker in the Lassie episode "Success Story". Bridges and Rob Reiner both had their first movie roles in a school desegregation picture from United Artists called Halls of Anger.1971–1989: Breakthrough and stardom
In 1971, he played the lead role Mike in the television film In Search of America. His first major role came in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show, for which he garnered a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He next co-starred in the 1972 gritty boxing film Fat City, directed by John Huston. In 1973, he starred as Junior Jackson in The Last American Hero, a film based on the true story of NASCAR driver Junior Johnson. He was again nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance opposite Clint Eastwood in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.In 1976, he starred as the protagonist Jack Prescott in the first remake of King Kong, opposite Jessica Lange. This film was a commercial success, earning $90 million worldwide, more than triple its $23 million budget, and also winning an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Towards the end of the decade he acted in mystery Somebody Killed Her Husband opposite Farrah Fawcett, the satirical black comedy Winter Kills alongside John Huston, and the comedy-drama The American Success Company. In 1980 he acted in Michael Cimino's large Western ensemble film Heaven's Gate acting opposite Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, John Hurt, Sam Waterston, and Isabelle Huppert. The film was a public critical and commercial failure and was blamed for the downfall of the studio, United Artists.
In 1982, Bridges starred in the science fiction film Tron, in which he played Kevin Flynn, a video game programmer. Critic Roger Ebert described the film as "brilliant" and compared it to The Empire Strikes Back, writing, "This movie is a machine to dazzle and delight us... in a technical way maybe it's breaking ground for a generation of movies in which computer-generated universes will be the background for mind-generated stories about emotion-generated personalities". Also in 1982 he voiced Prince Lir in the animated fantasy film The Last Unicorn alongside Alan Arkin, Mia Farrow, and Angela Lansbury and starred in the romantic comedy Kiss Me Goodbye directed by Robert Mulligan, acting alongside Sally Field.
In 1984, he starred in the John Carpenter-directed science fiction romance Starman playing an alien opposite Karen Allen. For his performance he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. During this period he also performed in the neo-noir Against All Odds with James Woods and Rachel Ward, the thrillers Jagged Edge opposite Glenn Close and The Morning After with Jane Fonda, and the crime comedy Nadine alongside Kim Basinger. In 1988 he portrayed automobile entrepreneur Preston Tucker in the Francis Ford Coppola directed biographical film Tucker: The Man and His Dream which earned positive reviews. The following year he acted in two romance films, the Alan J. Pakula directed See You in the Morning with Alice Krige and Farrah Fawcett and the Steve Kloves directed The Fabulous Baker Boys starring opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and his real life brother Beau Bridges.
1990–2007: Established actor
In 1990 he reunited with Cybill Shepard for Peter Bogdanovich's Texasville, a sequel to the 1971 film The Last Picture Show, which Bridges had starred in. The film also starred Cloris Leachman, Eileen Brennan, and Randy Quaid. The film was based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry. Bridges said of making the film, " was like constantly being hit over the head by deja vu. Every day I'd grab Peter and place him in some corner on the street where we were shooting and I'd say, 'Now 20 years ago what did you say to me as I was standing right here?'". The following year he starred in Terry Gilliam's fantasy comedy-drama The Fisher King opposite Robin Williams, Mercedes Ruehl and Amanda Plummer. In the film he plays a misanthropic radio shock jock who befriends a homeless person on the quest to find love and the Holy Grail. For their performances they both received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In 1992 he produced and starred as a man released from prison in the Martin Bel directed drama American Heart earning the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. Film critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised Bridges' performance writing, "It's time to recognize Mr. Bridges as the most underappreciated great actor of his generation...he has managed to transform himself to an astonishing degree."In 1993 he starred in the Peter Weir directed drama Fearless alongside Isabella Rossellini, John Turturro, and Rosie Perez. His role is thought by some critics to be one of his best performances. One critic dubbed it a masterpiece; Pauline Kael wrote that he "may be the most natural and least self-conscious screen actor that has ever lived". In 1994, he starred as Lt. Jimmy Dove in the action film Blown Away, opposite Tommy Lee Jones and Forest Whitaker. His real-life father Lloyd Bridges was also featured in the film, playing the uncle of Bridges' character. The film was not a financial success, managing to recoup $30 million of its $50 million budget at the box office, with its release a few weeks after another explosive-themed film, Speed. On July 11, 1994, Bridges received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture industry. The star is located at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard. Bridges portrayed James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok in the western film Wild Bill acting with Ellen Burstyn, John Hurt and Bruce Dern. The film received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb. In 1996 he acted in the Showtime television film Hidden in America alongside his brother Beau Bridges and Frances McDormand.
The following year acted in Ridley Scott's survival drama White Squall and co-starred with Barbra Streisand in the romantic comedy The Mirror Has Two Faces. In 1998, he starred as what is arguably his most iconic role, Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, in the Coen brothers' noir comedy The Big Lebowski. He played a fictional president of the United States in the political drama The Contender acting opposite Gary Oldman and Joan Allen. For his performance he earned his fourth Academy Award nomination as well as nods for the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. The following year he acted in the science-fiction drama K-Pax opposite Kevin Spacey. He portrayed businessman Charles S. Howard in the horse racing drama film Seabiscuit co-starring with Tobey Maguire and Chris Cooper. The film was based on the 1999 book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand. The film earned an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination. He also starred in the 2005 Terry Gilliam fantasy film Tideland co-starring with Janet McTeer and Jennifer Tilly. That was Bridges' second collaboration with Gilliam, the first being 1991's The Fisher King alongside Robin Williams.
Bridges hosted VH1's Top 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll series in 2001. Bridges narrated the documentary Lost in La Mancha, about the making of a Terry Gilliam retelling of Don Quixote, tentatively titled The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, which would have starred Johnny Depp as Sancho Panza and Jean Rochefort as the quixotic hero. Bridges also narrated the documentaries National Geographic's Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West, Discovery Channel's Raising the Mammoth, and ABC's Heroes of Rock and Roll. He voiced the character Big Z in the animated film Surf's Up. Bridges has performed TV commercial voiceover work as well, including Hyundai's 2007 "Think About It" advertising campaign, and the Duracell advertisements in the "Trusted Everywhere" campaign.