“That was my best”: Jeff Bridges’ most cherished role almost drove him over the edge
Jeff Bridges is an actor who remembers the part, not the pain involved in playing it.
Given that Jeff Bridges has been a movie star since his 1971 breakout in The Last Picture Show, there’s a reason to listen to him whenever he gives his thoughts on the industry – Bridges has been in countless films, both hits and flops, and has developed a deep understanding of how filmmaking works and what the reality is to be a working actor.
Bridges has never necessarily been short for work, but he did have a brief dip in his career towards the beginning of the 21st century, and despite earning an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his performance as the President of the United States in The Contender, he had an unfortunate streak in which he appeared in a series of flops, including K-PAX, Tideland, and Masked and Anonymous.
It was at this low point that Bridges was offered the role of Obadiah Stane, also known as the supervillain Iron-Monger in the first Iron Man film in 2008, and athough it would eventually become the first chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is now the highest-grossing film franchise of all-time, there wasn’t a lot of confidence about Jon Favreau’s superhero origin story at the time.
Outside of the fact that Iron Man wasn’t as well-known a character as other Marvel heroes, such as the Incredible Hulk or Spider-Man, there was no guarantee that Robert Downey Jr would be a box office draw, given his history of scandals. Iron Man had an infamously hectic production process in which the script was rewritten on a daily basis, leading many to assume that it would flop. However, Bridges expressed pride about his role in the film.
“Iron Monger, for me, that was my best,” Bridges said. “I think that was the best one of that genre. I thought Jon Favreau and Downey pulled that off. The tone on these is very challenging.”
At the time of its production, no one expected that Iron Man would become a franchise or that it would result in a crossover event like The Avengers. However, Bridges said he consistently felt surprised as to how well the film turned out, thanks to Favreau’s direction. “He had the Marvel guys, the suits I mean, we had to write that thing as we went,” Bridges said. “You know, very frustrating in a way, but Jon was able to just direct that so beautifully.”
Iron Man was a breath of fresh air within the superhero genre because it offered something sharp, fun, and somewhat grounded in reality – given that Marvel three-quels like Spider-Man 3 and X-Men: The Last Stand had been seen as major disappointments, Iron Man showed that Marvel could be cool and edgy again, especially with a comedy director like Favreau at the helm.
The one criticism that Marvel Studios has consistently earned for a vast majority of their films is their inability to create villains that are as memorable as their heroes, which results in misbalanced final conflicts. Stane is one of the few Marvel villains with a memorable personality and motivation, as the twist of seeing Tony Stark’s mentor betray him was a genuinely shocking moment.
Favreau and Downey are often credited with the fact that Iron Man is still one of the best superhero films ever made, but Bridges also had a lot to do with the film’s longevity.
