The role Jeff Bridges called “kinda depressing”
Among the most beloved figures in the film industry, Jeff Bridges‘ decades-spanning career has won him fans across multiple generations. From his breakthrough performance in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show to the Coen brothers’ brilliant neo-noir comedy The Big Lebowski, Bridges has demonstrated a highly impressive throughout his journey as an artist.
Due to his immense popularity within film enthusiast circles, many were shocked and saddened to hear about his hiatus from movies when he initially announced his lymphoma diagnosis. Even though he was also affected by Covid-19 while receiving cancer treatment, Bridges, fortunately, overcame his illness and is now set to reprise one of his most iconic roles in the upcoming sequel to the Tron series.
Just one brief glance at his resumé is enough to understand the level he has been operating on since the very beginning of his career. While examples like his Oscar-winning performance in Crazy Heart are always the first to be discussed, he has also been brilliant in more understated projects, such as John Huston’s stunning adaptation of Fat City.
For Bridges, there’s one particular project that affected his mental state to a significant extent, and that’s Gary Ross’ 2003 movie Seabiscuit. Based on the story of the titular racehorse who garnered widespread attention by swiftly rising to the top of the sport, Bridges delivers a measured performance as Charles S. Howard, who purchased Seabiscuit.
During a conversation with IGN, Bridges opened up about his psychological approach to the character: “A lot of it has to do with the physical stuff… getting in that costume every day, getting into makeup… It’s kinda depressing… You go into an hour of makeup to make me look older and older and older. And kind of overweight. Make me gain about ten years and gray my hair up and all that. As you do that in the morning, you start to get into this guy.”
“It’s kind of a mysterious thing,” Bridges maintained when asked about the on-screen chemistry with his co-stars. “A lot of times, I think we did relate well to each other in this show… Sometimes, you can not click with somebody, and it can feel awkward. But I’ve come to see that feelings don’t have too much to do with how you feel about something… Because I’ve often felt, after a day’s work, God, was I great in that scene. You click. And then you see the dailies…”
Starring alongside the likes of Tobey Maguire, Bridges’ work in Seabiscuit earned praise from critics who were also impressed by Ross’ take on the standard sports biopic formula. However, despite picking up multiple Oscar nominations, Seabiscuit couldn’t compete with the year’s best and is now hardly brought up whenever Bridges’ career is talked about.
