Jeff Bridges names his favourite sci-fi films: “I don’t know if you get movies much better than that”
Jeff Bridges was quite literally born for greatness. The son of Lloyd Bridges, best known for his appearances in High Noon and Airplane!, and the brother Beau Bridges, who is one Oscar away from an EGOT, Jeff was always destined to achieve great things in the world of entertainment. Through movies like The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, and the Coen brothers’ remake of True Grit, he has more than lived up to those lofty expectations.
Though he’s a great all-around player, Bridges has appeared in a number of prominent science-fiction films. He was the villain in the first Iron Man movie, helping to kick off the Marvel Cinema Universe and its reign of dominance over mainstream cinema. There’s also the ‘Tron’ series, Disney’s cult favourite adventures in cyberspace. The original movie, which came out in 1982 and starred Bridges as Kevin Flynn, was praised for its innovative use of computer animation. The actor admitted that he found making the film tough but clearly wasn’t bothered enough not to return for the 2011 sequel, Tron: Legacy.
While promoting the movie to Collider, Bridges was asked if he grew up a fan of the sci-fi genre. “Yeah I loved Ray Bradbury, [Robert] Heinlein you know, I liked him,” he confirmed. “2001, I don’t know if you get movies that are much better than that, I loved that. Starman I was in [that] movie and really enjoyed that film. Yeah I loved, as a kid growing up, I loved science-fiction.”
Ray Bradbury is best known for his groundbreaking novel Fahrenheit 451, but he also left his mark on Hollywood, contributing screenplays to several films, including 1953’s It Came from Outer Space. His influence was so profound that Steven Spielberg once called him his “muse”. Similarly, Robert A Heinlein was a pioneering science fiction author who emphasised scientific accuracy in his works. Among his most enduring books are Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Starship Troopers, the latter of which was adapted into a 1997 film directed by Paul Verhoeven.
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey needs no introduction, as it stands as one of the most significant films ever made in any genre. What’s less widely known, however, is the Jeff Bridges movie that Kubrick magnanimously named as one of his favourites. Starman, released in 1984, was directed by legendary horror filmmaker John Carpenter. Unlike Carpenter’s usual fare, this is not a scary movie but a heartfelt love story. It follows Bridges as an ethereal alien who comes to Earth and forms a connection with Jenny Hayden, a recently widowed woman who meets him after he takes on the form of her late husband.
The movie received strong reviews, particularly for the chemistry between Bridges and Karen Allen. Bridges was even nominated for a ‘Best Actor’ Oscar for his performance, though he ultimately lost to F Murray Abraham for Amadeus. Starman has since left a lasting impression on pop culture. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a flashback sequence shows Peter ‘Starlord’ Quill’s parents (Kurt Russell and Laura Haddock) falling in love while driving a 1978 Ford Mustang Cobra—the very same car driven by the main characters in Starman.
Bridges looks set to make his big return to sci-fi with the third instalment in the Tron series. Tron: Ares, set for a 2025 release, will see the star return to the role of Kevin Flynn alongside newcomers Jared Leto, Evan Peters, and Greta Lee.
