Entertainment

Jeff Bridges Through the Years: ‘The Big Lebowski,’ ‘Crazy Heart’ and More

Jeff Bridges made his screen debut as a baby and went on to land his iconic role as “The Dude” in 1998’s The Big Lebowski.

Jeff is one of four children of the late actor Lloyd Bridges and late actress and writer, Dorothy Bridges. He has a close relationship with his older brother Beau, who is also an actor. Both made appearances as children on their father’s shows, Sea Hunts (1958 to 1961) and The Lloyd Bridges Show (1962 to 1963), and later starred as on-screen brothers in 1989’s The Fabulous Baker Boys alongside Michelle Pfeiffer.

After starring in his breakthrough role in 1971’s The Last Picture Show, Jeff played Jack McKee in the 1975 film Rancho Deluxe. While on set, he met his wife, Susan Geston. Though Geston initially rejected Jeff, the two met later at a party celebrating the film and hit it off. They tied the knot in 1977 and have three daughters together: Isabelle, Jessica and Haley.

“I can’t take my eyes off this girl,” Jeff recalled of meeting his wife on The Off Camera Show in 2019. “I finally got my guts up to ask her out and I said, ‘Will you like to go out with me?’ and she said ‘No.’”

About 20 years after they met, Jeff found out that the moment was caught on camera.

“I get this letter from the makeup man on Rancho Deluxe,” Jeff continued to share. “He says, ‘I was looking through my files and I came across this photograph of you asking a local girl out.’”

After finding the love of his life, Jeff continued on in Hollywood, starring in 1982’s Tron as Kevin Flynn — a role he later reprised in 2010’s Tron: Legacy — the 1990 sequel to The Last Picture Show, Texasville, and 2009’s Crazy Heart, which garnered him an Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award for best actor.

Keep scrolling to see the award-winning actor’s career in photos:

1971 to 1972
Jeff had his big breakthrough as Duane Jackson in 1971’s The Last Picture Show. He garnered an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor the following year.

Art Zelin/Getty Images

1974 to 1982
Jeff earned another best supporting actor nomination at the 1975 Oscars for his performance opposite Clint Eastwood in 1974’s Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. He then starred in Rancho Deluxe and met future wife Susan Geston, who had been waitressing on the ranch they were filming at.
Jeff’s next big role was as Jack Prescott in the 1976 remake of King Kong with Jessica Lange. He married Geston a year later and the couple had three daughters – Isabelle (1981), Jessica (1983) and Haley (1985).
In 1982, Jeff starred as one of his most popular roles, Kevin Flynn, in the science-fiction film Tron.
Fotos International/Getty Images

1985
The Fat City actor earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best actor in John Carpenter’s 1984 film Starman. He played an alien opposite of Karen Allen.
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1989
Jeff starred alongside his real-life brother Beau in The Fabulous Baker Boys, playing Jack and Frank Baker, respectively.
Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

1992
Jeff played Jack Lucas, opposite Robin Williams, in Terry Gilliam’s 1991 film The Fisher King. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
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1994
The Surf’s Up voice actor received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture industry.
Frank Trapper/Corbis via Getty Images

1998
Jeff took on one of his most iconic roles, Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, in the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski. In a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jeff revealed that he related to the character and that half of the Dude’s clothes came from his own wardrobe.
“My first impression was it was a great script and I had never done anything like it,” he recalled at the time. “I thought the [Coen] brothers must have spied on me when I was in high school.”
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2000 to 2003
Jeff starred alongside Gary Oldman and Joan Allen in The Contender, earning Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actor and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for outstanding supporting actor in 2001. He costarred with Tobey Maguire and Chris Cooper in the 2003 film adaptation of Seabiscuit.
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2008
Jeff shaved his head to play the antagonist Obadiah Stane in 2008’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. He also portrayed Jonathan “Jon” Katz in HBO’s A Dog Year.
Marvel Studios/YouTube

2010
The Tideland star earned his first Emmy Award nomination in 2010 for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role in A Dog Year. He also earned his first Oscar and Golden Globe Award wins for Best Actor and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama respectively, and a SAG Award win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture for his role as Otis “Bad” Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart.
Jeff reprised his role as Kevin Flynn in Tron: Legacy with Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde. He received his sixth Oscar nomination for his role as Deputy U.S. Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn in True Grit with Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper and Hailee Steinfeld.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

2012
The R.I.P.D. star cowrote The Dude and the Zen Master with Bernie Glassman. The two met at a dinner party and formed a close friendship discussing the parallels between The Dude from The Big Lebowski and Zen Buddhism, a conversation they shared in a 2013 interview with Charlie Rose.
“One day Bernie says to me, ‘By the way, you know that in the Buddhist circles, The Dude is considered a Zen master,’” Jeff said at the time. “And I said, ‘What are you talking about, man?’ He said, ‘Oh yes.”
Bernie suggested writing a book based on their conversation and Jeff agreed.
“I said, ‘Oh, well, that could be kind of a cool thing. It would be a chance to hang out and go up to Montana and spend a few days,’” Jeff added. “And so that is what we did.”
Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Spike TV

2019
Jeff was presented with the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award by Chris Pine at the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards. He shared a story about the late director Michael Cimino and how Cimino gave him reassurance on the set of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
“I can remember going into his office the day before we started shooting,” Jeff said during his acceptance speech. “I said to him, ‘Mike, man, I am sorry but I think you’ve made a terrible mistake. I’m not feeling this guy at all, I feel so inadequate. I’m giving you late notice I know, but please fire me.’”
Jeff then recalled Cimino saying, “You are the guy, you couldn’t make a mistake if you wanted to.”
George Pimentel/WireImage

2020 to 2021
In 2020, Jeff was diagnosed with lymphoma. The actor was filming The Old Man when he found out and the series was put on hold, with just four episodes shot, while Jeff underwent chemotherapy. While receiving treatment, he contracted COVID-19.
“I got this letter from the chem place informing me I had contracted COVID,” Jeff shared with AARP in 2023. “I had no immune system to fight it. Chemo had wiped that out, which made it really, really tough.”
Fortunately, the award-winning actor was treated with blood plasma gathered from COVID survivors and made a recovery. His cancer also went into remission in 2021, telling AARP that his tumor had shrunk “to the size of a marble.”
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

2023
The cancer survivor’s performance opposite John Lithgow in FX’s The Old Man garnered Jeff a Golden Globe nomination for Best Television Actor – Drama Series and an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images

2024
Film at Lincoln Center announced Jeff to be the recipient of the 49th Chaplin Award. He will be honored at a gala at Lincoln Center in April 2024.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

By: Braylee Parry
Title: Jeff Bridges Through the Years: ‘The Big Lebowski,’ ‘Crazy Heart’ and More
Sourced From: www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/jeff-bridges-through-the-years-his-life-in-photos/
Published Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2024 12:30:02 +0000

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