Bridges, Jeff (1949-…), is an American television and motion-picture actor. He received the 2010 Academy Award for best actor for his performance as Bad Blake, a down-and-out country music singer and songwriter in Crazy Heart (2009).
Jeffrey Leon Bridges was born on Dec. 4, 1949, in Los Angeles. He is the son of the movie and television star Lloyd Bridges. Jeff’s brother Beau Bridges also became a successful actor. Jeff Bridges began his acting career as a young boy in the late 1950’s with guest appearances on his father’s TV show, “Sea Hunt.” He acted on many television shows in the 1960’s.
Bridges’s first major film role was in the critically acclaimed drama The Last Picture Show (1971). Bridges won his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal in that film of a 1950’s high school student in a small Texas town.
One of Bridges’s most notable roles was as Jeff “the Dude” Lebowski in the comedy The Big Lebowski (1998). Lebowski is a middle-aged, marijuana-smoking bowler who gets mixed up with a group of kidnappers. The film became a cult classic—that is, popular with a small but dedicated group of fans.
Bridges’s other films include Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974); TRON (1982) and its 2010 sequel, TRON: Legacy; Starman (1984); Jagged Edge (1985); Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988); The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989); The Fisher King (1991); The Contender (2000); Seabiscuit (2003); Iron Man (2008); a remake of the 1969 Western True Grit (2010); R.I.P.D. (2013); The Giver and Seventh Son (both 2014); and Hell or High Water (2016).
Bridges is also a singer and guitarist. He recorded the albums Be Here Soon (2000) and Jeff Bridges (2011).
