IfSylvester StalloneandRocky Balboasometimes blur the line between actor and part , the same oblige on-key for Jeff Bridges and The Dude . The 71 - year - old Bridges seems to harbor the same contented aplomb that embodies Jeff Lebowski , the berobed slacker who finds himself at odds with nihilist in the Coen brother ' 1998 rage classicThe Big Lebowski .
Of course , Bridges has take on other roles in his 50 - year career — a career that was pave by his famous father , fellow actor Lloyd Bridges . For more on Jeff ’s life and film high spot , including his unconvincing sieve debut and stint with the Coast Guard , keep reading .
1. Jeff Bridges made his screen debut as an infant.
Bridges , who was born on December 5 , 1949 , grew up in an acting family . His father , Lloyd , was an doer well known for the NBC aquatic dramaSea Hunt(1958 - 1961 ) , and both Jeff and his older brother Beaufollowedtheir father into the business . Jeffrecalledthat Lloyd would sit him on his bed as a kidskin and mentor him on the hunky-dory points of acting , including listen to when another performing artist is speaking rather than just waitress for his bend to present line .
Technically speak , Jeff made his play first appearance prior to that advice — as an babe . Bridges brieflyappearedalongside his mother , actor Dorothy Bridges , in the 1951 filmThe Company She Keeps .
2. Jeff Bridges used to get into stage fights with his brother Beau in front of supermarkets.
While both Jeff and Beau seem onSea Hunt , they had another outlet for their execute caprice . When Jeff was around 15 year old , Beau wouldrenta flatbed motortruck and the two would beat back around getting into stunt , or phase , struggle in position of the public . The choreographed fighting would be so convincing that observers would grow alarmed .
“ Our father , Lloyd , taught us how to arrange fight , you know , fake fight , ” Jeff toldFresh Airin 2017 . “ And we would stage this fake fight . And a crew would , you know , gather around the parking lot , watching these two guys go at each other … And we ’d spring on the back of the flatbed truck and perform our scenes that we ’d work on until the police came . ”
3. Jeff Bridges was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard.
When Bridges was 18 , he graduated from flatbed fistfights to studying act in a somewhat more respectable path , attendingthe Herbert Berghof ( HB ) Studio in New York City . At the same time , he also join the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves . During his seven - yr tenure , he worked as a buoy attendant , removing paint from buoys , repaint them , then reprize the outgrowth over again .
4. Jeff Bridges earned an Oscar nomination for his first major film role.
While Bridges had some film and television credits to his name , it was hisrolein 1971’sThe Last exposure Showthat made the industry take notice . The 22 - twelvemonth - old ’s portrayal of rich jock Duane Jackson inhabit in small - town Texas in 1951 strickle a chord . Bridges was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards , one of the film ’s eight nominating address . “ It was the show that put me on the map , ” hetoldthe Associated Press in 1990 . Bridges wasnominatedfor seven Academy Award between 1972 and 2017 , andwonhis first — and so far only — prosperous statuette for his performance as a disruptive country music artist in 2009’sCrazy Heart .
5. Jeff Bridges is an avid photographer.
Beginning with 1984’sStarman , in which he dally an alien falling in love with Karen Allen , Bridges has made a habit oftakingphotographs while on motion picture sets . Using a Widelux camera , the bird’s-eye image describe a litany of behind - the - view shots . bridge usually gifts aggregation to film crews after wrapping ; he published two books of picture taking , 2003’sPictures by Jeff Bridgesand 2019’sJeff Bridges : Pictures book 2 . The actor has also make exhibitions in New York , Los Angeles , and London , andreceivedan Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography in New York in 2013 .
6. Jeff Bridges once co-hostedSaturday Night Livewith his brother.
In what seems to be the only prison term a sibling duet co - hostedSaturday Night Live , Jeff and Beau Bridgessharedhosting duties for a February 1983 sequence . In a nod to their earlier training , the two got into a ( staged ) fistfightduringthe opening monologue . They spoofedSea HuntwithCheap Hunt , in which a cash - strapped gang try on to shoot a scene without film underwater . In the most peculiar sketch of the evening , Jeff played a masseuse who seems a little too comfortable massaging his brother . Jeffreturnedto hostSNLsolo in 2010 .
7. Jeff Bridges has sold songs to Quincy Jones.
Since he was a kidskin , span has had an interest in music , which hepreferredover his father ’s attempts to draw him into acting . Later on , Bridges was able to sell two Song to famed producer Quincy Jones , including “ Lost in Space , ” which appear in a 1969 photographic film titledJohn and Mary . Bridges also played his own pianoforte in the 1989 filmThe Fabulous Baker Boysandreleaseda debut record album , Be Here Soon , in 2000 . In 2014 , heperformedduring Lebowski Fest in Los Angeles alongside his band , the Abiders .
8. Even Jeff Bridges will watchThe Big Lebowskiall the way through.
The Big Lebowskiwas a custom - tailored role for Bridges , who strolls through the Coen Brothers flick as its shaggy-haired - dog protagonist . It ’s one of the few cinema he ’s made that seems to carry as much interest for him as it does for fans . “ I ’m one of those guys — you know , a movie of mine add up on the thermionic valve — on the TV — I’ll , you know , watch a scene and then turn the channel , ” hetoldFresh Airin 2017 . “ But whenLebowskicomes on , I — you sleep together , I say , well , I ’ve got to just — I’ll just expect until Maude comes , you eff , flee down from the ceiling nude statue , you know , dab paint all over The Dude . And then I ’ll say , well , no . I ’ll just vex [ around ] to … see [ John ] Turturro lick the bollock , you know ? And I get sucked in , you screw ? And I stop up watching the whole thing . ”
