Q & A with JEFF BRIDGES by Tom Teicholz

When Jeff Bridges won the Academy Award for best actor for his performance in “Crazy Heart,” and spoke so wonderfully about his parents and their influence on his being an actor, it reminded me that many, many years ago, in 1982, I had interviewed Jeff Bridges for Andy Warhol’s INTERVIEW magazine and that he had expressed the same sentiments — so much so that the article was titled “Families: A Hollywood tradition  continues.”

The interview took place at Interview’s offices on Union Square (the second factory), and I recall that we ended up having lunch in the wood paneled boardroom and that Andy Warhol came by and joined us and spoke very knowledgeably about the artwork in the room (late 19th Century or early 20th Century American), almost like an art history professor.

Recalling all this made me head for my garage in search of a copy of the INTERVIEW published in the April 1982 issue (Clio Goldsmith of “The Gift” was on the cover), which is not available digitally online from Interview’s archives.  Turns out that when I got my copy, I had Andy sign it.

One other funny coincidence — in the interview Bridges talks about the possibility of a TRON II — well, this year a remake of TRON is coming out! So, for it seems all the more appropriate to revisit my conversation with Jeff Bridges as it appeared in the April 1982 issue of INTERVIEW.

Families: a Hollywood tradition continues

Jeff Bridges

by

Tom Teicholz

Acting is the family business for Jeff Bridges. With father Lloyd Bridges (of television’s “Sea Hunt’’) and older brother Beau as examples, it didn’t take long before Jeff followed. Acclaim proceeded soon thereafter with an Academy Award nomination for “The Last Picture Show” in 1971, and again for his performance in “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (1974). Other credits include John Huston’s “Fat City” (1972), “Rancho Deluxe” (1974), the infamous “Heaven’s Gate,” “Cutter’s Way” and the fantastic computer adventure “Tron.” Jeff Bridges can currently be seen in 20th Century Fox’s “Kiss Me Goodbye” with Sally Fields and James Caan. This spring he will be very visible when The Invisible Studio—which Claire Townsend and William Richert formed—re-releases two films which Mr. Richert wrote and directed and in which Jeff Bridges stars. “Winter Kills”(which co-stars John Hus ton and Tony Perkins) and “Success” (which features Bianca Jagger).

TOM TEICHOLZ: Is there anything, when you read scripts, that makes you choose the films you do? Is there anything you’re looking for?

JEFF BRIDGES: Each one is for a different reason. Often it’s the people involved who you want to play with. The story and the character have a lot to do with it. In some movies, Tron for instance, I wanted to do that just because of the groundbreaking aspects of the technology.

TT: What was it like to act in Tron—I saw it twice—in a lot of the scenes you must have been acting in the black?

JB: Right, it was very weird. White leotard, dance belt and black velvet.

TT: Do you think that acting is in any way easier because you grew up with it?

JB: Well, it was definitely easier to get into it—one of the toughest things about acting is trying to get your foot in the door, so that came quite easily.

TT: You did some episodes of “Sea Hunt.”

JB: Yes, even before that I sometimes played the little baby who was carried on. But yes, I did three or four “Sea Hunts.”

TT: Did your brother also?

JB: Yes, but the three of us never worked together.

TT: Your brother is eight years older. Are there any other children?

JB: Cindy, my sister.

TT: What does she do?

JB: She occasionally acts, but primarily she’s a mother, raising a family.

TT: And your father was in “Airplane.”

JB: Yes. He’s also in “Airplane II” and probably III.

TT: Is there going to be a “Tron II”?

JB: I hope so. A new “Tron.” If there is, it will really make this one seem very primitive because this one was totally experimental. We all learned so much and the next one should be really exciting if there is one. It will depend on how it does.

TT: We all know about your father and your brother, what about your mother?

JB: She’s the real star of the family.

TT: How so?

JB: God, where do you begin on Dorothy? She used to do this thing with her kids that was quite interesting where every day for an hour she would give each child what she called “time,” and that meant she wouldn’t take any phone calls and would be totally dedicated to that particular child. She had three kids so that meant three hours of every day would be spent with the kids, but intensely. The kids could include their friends if they wanted to or the other brothers and sisters, or not do the time, but it was always there for them. When we were little kids, we would get her make-up out and make her up—draw weird stuff all over her face or have her be a horse and carry us all under the tables.

TT: She continued to have this time with you all the way through?

JB: Still today, if we want our time, she’s there. The other thing that was so exciting about it—I didn’t appreciate it then, but I do now—it was done with no sense of sacrifice on her part. She really looks at her children as sort of treasures and it gives her great pleasure to spend time with us.

TT: Did she encourage you in your acting career or did she say, “Be a carpenter, enough of this.”

JB: No. I was watching her with my sister’s little boy and she was having him go through the paces, saying “Look happy. Look sad. Now look like you love me.”

TT: Did you do that as a child?

JB: Sure, are you kidding?

TT: So she was your first acting coach?

JB: Yes. Probably before my father and brother there was my mother and Christmas plays and everything. She’s also a terrific writer. She’s been married for 45 years and she’s kept a diary every day and now she’s in the process of breaking the diary down according to the children and, like, wherever my name is mentioned in the diary, put that in my book—what she was feeling at different times of my own life, what she was going through—it’s interesting. She’s in the process of doing that and also has a publishing deal. She wrote, I think, six chapters from this diary, so she’s in the process of making a book out of it based on those writings. She’s a remarkable woman and occasionally she acts—very rarely, but that’s where my father met her, at the U.C.L.A. drama department.

TT: When they were students?

JB: My father was the president of the drama department there and my mother was the young starlet.

TT: Were you ever, or are you ever, competitive with your brother in terms of acting?

JB: No, we’re sort of on the same team and get a lot of support from each other and encouragement and so forth.

TT: After you finished high school you came to New York to study acting?

JB: Yes, briefly. At the Berghoff Studio.

TT: You decided you needed the training or needed to get away from California?

JB: Let’s see, what was it? My father was doing Cactus Flower out here at the time. I was about to go into the Coast Guard Reserve. -

TT: A little Sea Hunt experience?

JB: That was definitely the in. It was pretty much just coming out here with the family and then looking for something to do and I figured I’d see what the acting class would be like. I studied with Alice Spivak—she was very nice. I can’t really remember too much of what went on.

TT: Did you join the Coast Guard?

JB: Yes, I did.

TT: How many years?

JB: God, it must have been seven or eight years. It wasn’t that bad. There were some good elements to it.

TT: Were you opposed to the war in Vietnam? Was there a conflict between you and your family?

JB: No, they wanted to make sure they did everything they could to make sure I didn’t get offed.

TT: Did this get you out of the draft basically? Was that your primary motivation?

JB: I remember when this decision actually came over whether or not to get into the Coast Guard, I was 16 or 17. I didn’t have too much political consciousness at the time. My basic motivation was just saving my ass.

TT: That certainly is a motivation.

JB: Yes, it’s probably the big one. To do the Coast Guard thing, you had to sign up two or three years before you were even eligible. So I made the choice pretty early.

TT: For a while you seemed to be a searcher and seemed, at least publicly, to be searching for something through drugs, personal development, things like that. Are you still searching?

JB: Oh, a little bit. Celebrating more.

TT: Celebrating what?

JB: What I’ve found, I guess.

TT: What’s that?

JB: It’s like “There’s no place like home’ ‘—all those things that you … you know, love….

TT: What do you think is necessary to find those things? Do you think you have to go through—

JB: I didn’t have to necessarily, I just did. Most of the searching or exploring—I didn’t really learn so much new as much as it supported what I already had inklings that it was about. I haven’t changed that much since I was a little, tiny kid. I’m involved with a group called the Los Angeles World Hunger Event—I’m involved with a couple of different organizations, but this particular one is involved with doing media events to try to do something about ending world hunger. We were talking about that searching. You see that where the journey leads is finally out into the world. So for the last five or six years I’ve been looking at, and exploring, what I can do to make the world fit into more positive pictures.

TT: Has all this helped your acting?

JB: Oh, yeah. You’re constantly learning new things. It’s funny, when you get married and have a kid, it’s a big change.

TT: Do you live mostly in LA?

JB: I live in Montana.

TT: I know Rancho Deluxe was shot out there. Is that close to where you live?

JB: Yes. As a matter of fact, that’s where I met my wife, on that picture.

TT: She was an actress?

JB: She was working on a dude ranch. She’s from North Dakota originally. We live right in the valley where we met. It’s very romantic for us there.

TT: Is that near Tom McGuahe’s property?

JB: Yes, near.

TT: Do you see much of him?

JB: Yes, we see each other when we’re there.

TT: Now, two films that you did, “Winter Kills” and “Success,” have been recently re released just like “Cutter’s Way.”

JB: Yeah, that got a little resurrection which felt real good, too.

TT: It’s interesting that they re-release films which probably didn’t get the attention they deserved. Did you enjoy working with John Huston in “Winter Kills”?

JB: Very much. He had directed “Fat City” and it was interesting how different it was working with him as an actor. In “Fat City” he really didn’t go out of his way—this is my own impression of him and, as a matter of fact, I never talked to him about it—he knew that I was in awe of him—he was a master and here I was working with the stars, relatively new at the game. He really didn’t go out of his way to make me feel especially comfortable. I think he liked that little edge he was getting, kind of keeping me on my toes. Working with him as an actor, he went out of his way to let everyone know he was just one of the boys, one of the players, and he was very respectful of the director—really terrific to work with. I really admire him.

TT: So what are your future projects?

JB: I have no idea. Nothing is set yet. I’d like to do more of a dramatic role next time out if I get the right script.

TT: Does stage work interest you?

JB: Yes. The time that it keeps you out of circulation as far as movies go is kind of scary to me, but now I understand they’re doing a lot of short run shows here with movie actors and I guess they’re taping them and putting them on cable.

TT: You haven’t done that much television.

JB: I did in the early part of my career but I just haven’t done that too much lately.

TT: For any reason?

JB: There seems to be a little less care in TV for some reason, although I just did Shelly Duvall’s “Fairytale.”

TT: Which one were you in?

JB: Rapunzel, with Gena Rowlands as the witch and Shelly as Rapunzel. It was very fast. What you would take fifteen days to shoot in a movie, they shoot in a day or even quicker than that.

TT: So you like your job?

JB: Love it.

TT: What does it do for you?

JB: There are so many elements I love. For one thing I’m a totally different person when I’m working than when I’m off work. When I’m not working I kind of get over-mellow and gain about fifteen pounds and grow all the hairs on my body. The rationale for that is that I might go out and play a fat guy. Then about two months before a picture I usually chisel a character into shape in terms of what the guy should look like. I have this strange pattern I’m trying to break where I get in shape like almost training for a fight, get all my vices out, my bad habits, and get to work, and then to reward myself after the movie, I go wham, and over-indulge myself. But for a movie, I get in good shape and feel terrific and when I’m working I’m usually just full of energy. Sometimes I can’t control my self, I’m just shaking with excitement, wanting to get going to work. Also, you’re working with terrific people and it’s really interesting in that it’s a communal art form. It’s almost as if in the ideal circumstances I find, it’s like working in the same brain, like a bunch of little impulses darting around the same mind and the target is making the best movie it could possibly be. It’s great to work with a bunch of people who are constantly going after that effort.

It’s really a great excuse to tell the truth.

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