Jeff Bridges, the son of art who launched a “religion”

THEirresistible. I can’t think of another adjective to better define Jeff Bridges. At least in my eyes. When you meet and talk to him, he is patient, sweet, and witty; he listens to you, curious and interested in everything and everyone. It’s serious and deep but doesn’t take itself too seriously. They will seem trivial, right? You could say that of many characters you interview… This is not the case with him: it has an edge. The humanity is palpable, the interest in you and your work is never affectation.

Jeff Bridges, first set at 6 months

But let’s start with his career: at six months – in 1951 – he was already on the set of his first film, NN special surveillance, along with his older brother Beau; a few years later, always with Beau, he starred in the TV series Sea Hunt (1958-1961), starring his father Lloyd. The Bridges – there is also the mother, Dorothy – are a family of actors, always joined by a double thread, in the profession and in the affections. Acting is in their blood and they have often collaborated: Jeff and Lloyd in Tucker: the man and his dreamJeff and Beau in The Fabulous Bakers.

They are a solid and respected dynasty and for Peter Bogdanovich, who knew them well, «a family of refined actors of rare grace and generosity». It was he who directed Jeff in The last show. It was 1971: he was only 22 years old, the critics praised him, the Academy nominated him for an Oscar as best actor, his name suddenly appeared in the list of the most respected performers in Hollywood. It was a somewhat disorienting success, he later confessed.

From that moment, however, his road was marked: about seventy films, seven Oscar nominations, a flood of awards and a versatility that allows him to pass with extreme ease from one genre to another. Drama, comedy, western, thriller or mystery: he slips into the characters as if nothing had happened. Neither The Fabulous Bakers he is indolent, seductive, alluring, not even Michelle Pfeiffer can resist him; in Fearless-Without Fear of Peter Weir demonstrates unsuspected dramatic ability.With The Big Lebowski enters with arrogance in the annals of American comedy: his Dude (Drugo in the Italian version), the laziest man in the county of Los Angeles, is part of the Californian epic. 25 years later, the Coen brothers’ film is an absolute culthas legions of super fans (the Achievers), a annual festival (the Lebowski Fest) And even a religion (Dudeism).

But it is with Crazy heart — as the lost but romantic alcoholic country singer — who finally in 2010 he won the Oscar. In the latest work, the TV series The Old Man, plays a former CIA agent and Vietnam veteran, who – after killing an intruder who entered his house – lives in hiding for 30 years. A part that earned him every possible nomination: Emmy, Golden Globes, Satellite and Screen Actors Guild.

A “prince” passionate about photography

I could list another twenty interpretations (more than 70): he could be the most normal man in the world, the morally ambiguous type, the melancholic one or the authoritarian one. He knows how to be and do everything, but it’s the spirit that takes you, humanity. Her photo books (she has published many dedicated to the different sets she worked on) capture different images and moments, but always capturing the truth.

“He’s a hell of a photographer,” wrote Bogdanovich in the preface to the book Jeff Bridges Pictures, published in 2003 (personally, I’m proud of a copy dedicated to me). «In addition to being a prodigiously talented actor, he is one of the nicest and kindest people I have ever met: can be pleasant, brilliant and ambiguous at the same time, a truly bizarre mix. I call him Prince Jeff.”

And who does the prince in question thank for so much good fortune, so much skill? his family (he has been married to Susan Geston for 46 years, is the father of three daughters and grandfather of three grandchildren) and the parents who taught him everything. «Luck has left its mark on my life» he told me years ago. «I had the opportunity to work with great directors and tell beautiful stories. I’m really glad I was born in my bed, I’m the product of an undeniable nepotism: I certainly wouldn’t have become an actor if my father hadn’t convinced me to participate in the series Sea Hunt. He knows? I wanted to paint, make music… “Don’t be ridiculous”, he replied, peremptory. “An actor can do all the things he loves, plus tell beautiful stories, from different angles and perspectives. It’s a wonderful profession.” He was right, and I’m glad I listened to him.”

Transforms anxieties and fears into strength

Over time many hesitations, anxieties, and fears have faded, but never failed. He meditates, does yoga, alternates periods of intense work with long breaks dedicated to his hobbies and silence. He says he has even managed to transform moments of despondency, stress and dissatisfaction into something productive. He explained to me, during the interview for The Only Living Boy in New Yorkin August 2017: «I try to transform the irritation, fury and rage that I feel at certain moments into a force that stimulates me to react, commit myself to creating a different world where I would like to live and see my descendants live. This is why I am committed to addressing the problem of hunger in the world as ecological issues, I don’t want to waste time in useless disputes and indignant statements. I would just like everyone to be more aware, involved and active”.

Two lines on his philanthropic activities: «The years go by and you realize that you have even less time to waste» he told me at the time of Crazy heart. «A lot has been offered to me in life and in my career, just like that I wondered, for example, how to fight malnutrition in children around the world. It is a drama that has always pained and shaken me. So I helped found The End Hunger Network in 1984. Think about it, in 2009 in America 16 and a half million children didn’t have a guaranteed meal: one in four, can you believe it? It’s atrocious, this is one of the richest countries in the world. How to find a justification?».

Jeff Bridges has embraced the environmental cause

And here his pacifist soul emerges with arrogance: «We have to find a different way to deal with so many differences and discriminations: instead of slaughtering each otherwe donate what we have to just causes. Why not use armies, for example, to restore the environment (the actor has been collaborating for years with the ecologist Paul Hawken, a scholar of global warming, ed) and help humanity, rather what to do with it? Just making films is not enough, I think we need to concretely support our society so that it improves».

Too naive? Certainly an idealist, perhaps a dreamer. It was certainly no coincidence that Francis Ford Coppola cast him as the visionary Preston Tucker, in Tucker: the man and his dream, the story of the brilliant inventor who built the revolutionary “car of tomorrow” fighting alone against the system, the big car companies and even the government. In Tucker, Coppola saw himself in his battles against Hollywood and the studios, as he told me in 1988 when I went to interview him at the Skywalker Ranch, Lucas Film headquarters, an hour from San Francisco. «In the story of a man who follows his dream and in Jeff’s interpretation I saw myself again» he said.

Three records with his band

«I try to be honest, in work and in life, but I don’t always succeed» Jeff told me, smiling, in December 2009. «I admire sincere people, I find hypocrisy repulsive. Maybe that’s why I love country music so much: it’s about true stories, defeats and weaknesses, makes you feel that you are not alone in suffering. And I aspire to that, to participate in the fate of many. I write music, poems, paint and act: I don’t see much difference between these forms of expression, I approach them in the same way, trying to be as true as possible. And then, Do you know that line of Bob’s, Robert Duvall? Nooo? When young actors asked him what was the most important aspect of acting, he replied: “Hobbies, hobbies, and then more hobbies.” It is important – indeed, essential – to cultivate different interests: they end up punctually in your work. Here, music is one of my interests. With his band, The Abiders, he has released three albums.

The years of illness

Bridges knows how to laugh and smile at himself: «I commit myself – even when I’m doing yoga and I can’t perfect certain positions and I have to struggle – to be more kind and compassionate with myself; it is necessary to learn to forgive yourself, always remaining aware and present» he reflects aloud. Suddenly, he changes his tone and is joking again. In my television interviews he showed me how he prepared for the characters. He even mimicked me: he would start imitating me, with that amused glint in her eyes.

In a more personal sphere, in March of 2020, during a break from pandemic restrictions, she discovered she had lymphoma. Filming was interrupted, the actor underwent chemotherapy, and after a few months he discovered he had Covid. The immune system was no longer responding, could not walk, not even breathe. “I was then living in complete ‘surrender mode’. I repeated to myself: sooner or later I’ll have to die, I might as well, I’m ready for the new adventure».

Instead he was saved, thanks – he says now – to the love of his wife, daughters, friends, admirers. «I also thought that I would never face a professional commitment again and instead, after two years, I returned to the set to finish the episodes of the first season of The Old Man: I lived a dream, in all respects» he said recently, concluding: «I feel that these times are a challenge to be more creative and inventive, we must work together to produce something beautiful, just like in a film» .

PS To those who want to get to know Jeff Bridges closely, I recommend his site, jeffbridges. com: it’s a whole world of music, photography, art, cinema. And love for each other.

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