The movie Jeff Bridges felt “lucky” to be cast in
For fans of the Coen brothers’ legendary comedy The Big Lebowski, it can feel like Jeff Bridges will always be trapped in his iconic role as The Dude. However, Bridges’ career goes way back beyond The Big Lebowski and he had come through the ranks in the late 1950s in the television series Sea Hunt.
Around a decade later, Bridges, who had been born into a prominent acting family, made his feature film debut, Halls of Angers, which set him on his way to becoming one of Hollywood’ most memorable stars and further acclaimed performances in the likes of Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, and much later, The Contender, Crazy Heart and True Grit.
Perhaps the most important early role of Bridges, though, came in 1971, when he performed in Peter Bogdanovich’s coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show alongside the likes of Timothy Bottoms, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson and Cybill Shepherd. During an interview with GQ, Bridges had once spoken of his pleasure at securing the role, which undoubtedly changed his professional life forever.
“I was sure lucky to get on board with that one,” Bridges explained. “My agent said they have a casting call, and I went in. According to Peter Bogdanovich, I was the first one cast”. The actor went on to note how, on occasion, an actor can walk into an audition and get the part straight away, with the producers and directors immediately saying, “Oh, that’s the guy”.
He admitted, “I guess that was the case with me, so I really lucked out.”
The Last Picture Show takes place in a small northern Texas town between November 1951 and October 1952 and tells of two long-time friends and high-school seniors played by Bottoms and Bridges. The film was a huge box office success and also saw eight Academy Award nominations, including a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Bridges.
Discussing his lasting impression of Bogdanovich’s movie, Bridges noted, “What a wonderful film that is. It’s not like any other movie, and no other movie is like it. It just sits there by itself.” The actor went on to explain how he had been instructed by a young 16-year-old by the name of Lloyd Catlett, who had been given a small part in the film while also teaching the “California kids how to be Texas kids.”
“Lloyd did a wonderful job and kind of fell in love with the circus of the movie,” Bridges said before pointing out how the two would stay close to one another on a professional basis for many years to come. “Lloyd has been my stand-in for all of those movies; we have over 60 films together,” Bridges admitted with delight.
The actor’s life undoubtedly changed from that point, especially considering his Oscar nomination. “These were in the days where there was no campaigns or anything,” Bridges said of his early recognition by the Academy. “I was just a 19-year-old kid with someone waking me up at 4 o’clock in the morning, saying, ‘You’ve been nominated.’ I couldn’t believe it; it was a big surprise.”
It must have been a big surprise, especially considering how early into his career Bridges was. However, the nomination was fully deserved and marked the beginning of a brilliant career in the film industry. It all came down, though, to that “lucky” casting, which Bridges undoubtedly looks back on with fondness.
