Candles for Jeff

Image borrowed from Bing

Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor and musician. His most notable films include The Last Picture Show, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Tron, Starman, The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Fisher King, Fearless, The Big Lebowski, The Contender, Iron Man, and Crazy Heart, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 82nd Academy Awards.

In his youth, Bridges, as well as his brother Beau, made occasional appearances on their father's show Sea Hunt (1958–1961) and the CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962–1963).

His first major role was in the 1971 movie The Last Picture Show for which he garnered a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated again for the same award 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 future academy award winner Jessica Lange (her first role). This film was a huge commercial success, earning back $90 million worldwide, more than triple its $23 million budget, and also winning an Academy Award for special effects.

One of his better known roles was in the 1982 science-fiction cult classic TRON, in which he played Kevin Flynn, a video game programmer, a role he is set to reprise in late 2010 in the sequel TRON: Legacy. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1984 for playing the alien in Starman. He was also acclaimed for his roles in the thriller Against All Odds and the crime drama Jagged Edge. His role in Fearless is recognized 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". He also starred as "The Dude" in the Coen Brothers' cult-classic film The Big Lebowski.

In 2000, he received his fourth Academy Award nomination for his role in The Contender. He also starred in the 2005 Terry Gilliam movie Tideland, his second with the director (the first being 1991's The Fisher King). He played the role of Obadiah Stane in the 2008 Marvel motion picture, Iron Man. In July 2008 and July 2009, at the San Diego Comic-Con International, he appeared in a teaser for TRON: Legacy, the sequel to Tron.

In 2010, Bridges won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Bad Blake in the film Crazy Heart.

Jeff Bridges is one of the oldest actors ever to win an Academy Award; he was also one of the youngest actors ever to be nominated. In 2010, he won his Oscar for Crazy Heart at the age of 60; in 1972, he was nominated for The Last Picture Show at age 22.

As far as Beau is concerned, we're on the same team, we root for each other. If my parts are slightly more attractive, or are perceived that way by others, he's very content.
Jeff Bridges

I had a great '70s. I survived it, and that's always good news.
Jeff Bridges

I had years of partying, and I was kind of surprised and happy I survived it all. Now, being a parent, I look back on it thinking, Oh God, the things you did!
Jeff Bridges

I love John Irving's stuff. It's that marriage of comedy and tragedy. It's really terrific.
Jeff Bridges

I'm very manipulative towards directors. My theory is that everyone on the set is directing the film, we're all receiving art messages from the universe on how we should do the film.
Jeff Bridges

I've had really great experiences working with first-time directors. They come at filmmaking with fresh ideas. I've been very lucky that way.
Jeff Bridges

Most cynics are really crushed romantics: they've been hurt, they're sensitive, and their cynicism is a shell that's protecting this tiny, dear part in them that's still alive.
Jeff Bridges

Movies are like magic tricks.
Jeff Bridges

Nowadays, in the contract that actors sign, you have to agree that you're going to do a certain amount of publicity-the hard part they don't pay you for.
Jeff Bridges

The problem with the designated driver programme, it's not a desirable job. But if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At then end of the night drop them off at the wrong house.
Jeff Bridges

Working with my dad was such a gas. We approached the work in a similar way. We only made two films together when I was an adult, Tucker, and Blown Away, but it was so much fun to play with your parent like that.
Jeff Bridges