Jeff Bridges picks his favourite Tom Waits song
In the pantheon of actors-turned-singers and singer-turned-actors, Jeff Bridges and Tom Waits seem to have some genuine connective tissue. Neither one seems to have any vanity when it comes to their moonlighting gigs: Bridges is as unpretentious as singers come, while Waits never seems to be acting too far outside of his established persona while appearing on screen. In other words, both men make it seem natural.
Over the years, Bridges and Waits have crossed paths on a few occasions. Waits appeared in a small role in Terry Gilliam’s 1991 film The Fisher King, in which Bridges starred, while Waits starred in Robert Dornhelm’s 1989 film Cold Feet as Bridges took a bit part. Bridges was always happy to see Waits on set, having been a fan of Waits’ music for a number of years.
“I’ve always loved Tom, and he and I acted together in The Fisher King and in a movie called Cold Feet, which my wife produced,” Bridges told The Guardian. “It was remarkable for me – as an actor – to witness these kinds of personas that he created; you think of musicians like David Bowie who could create these characters, and Tom could do all that, and just move in and out of them.”
“He was so committed to performance all the time,” Bridges added. “You went to a Tom Waits concert and it was like nothing else you ever saw.”
Bridges and Waits would become friends from their multiple meetings, and after The Fisher King wrapped production, Bridges set his sights on the 1992 American Heart. Acting as one of the film’s producers as well as its star, Bridges was able to make some behind-the-scenes decisions. That included asking Waits to write a song for the movie.
“Just after this period, in 1992, I made a movie called American Heart, and we needed a theme song, and Tom gave us a wonderful tune called ‘Never Let Go’. When I was out playing with my band the Abiders one night some years later, we played that song, and – I’m glad I didn’t know – but Tom was in the audience. I saw him afterwards, and he was so generous and open and warm and hilarious. That’s all there in the songs.”
Check out ‘Never Let Go’ down below.
