Quotes by Jeff Bridges

“One of the tough things about being an actor, probably the hardest thing, is getting your foot in the door, and my father handled that for me at a very early age.”

“Any role that big is going to be a challenge for any actor, but for an actor of a young age, it's going to be even tougher.”

“For me, growing up, the downside of it was that as a kid you don't want to stand out. You don't want to have a famous father let alone get a job because of your famous father, you know? But I'm a product of nepotism. That's how I got my foot in the door, through my dad.”

“I'm very manipulative towards directors. My theory is that everyone on the set is directing the film, we're all receiving art messages from the universe on how we should do the film.”

“I'm very much into the costuming of any character that I portray and it's one of the great things about making movies is it's a collaborative art form so you get all these artists who are looking specifically about for this instance your character's costume and what that might tell about your character.”

“Unlike a lot of actors, my father encouraged all his kids to go into show business.”

“Nowadays it seems more and more like the 'business' in 'show business' is underlined, and there are campaigns, and it's all part of getting people in to see the movies.”

“If you change partners every time it gets tough or you get a little dissatisfied, then I don't think you get the richness that's available in a long-term relationship.”

“Thoughts will change and shift just like the wind and the water when you're on the boat thoughts are no different than anything else.”

“I have a cycle that is not particularly cool, but it's a cycle: trash myself to reward myself.”

“That's one of the cool things about fame. You have an affect on society and where it goes.”

“I just hope that theaters remain. I think there's something very wonderful about getting into a dark room with a bunch of people. There's something cool about that. Brings us all together in one room where we can experience all those emotions.”

“Working with my dad was such a gas. We approached the work in a similar way. We only made two films together when I was an adult, Tucker, and Blown Away, but it was so much fun to play with your parent like that.”

“Normally, I love to go to the movies and when I see a character portrayed by different actors at different ages, it kind of pops a little bit for me. It brings me out of the movie experience. Now we have the technology to cure that.”

“Whenever you're the child of a famous person, you get judged in odd ways because of that.”

“I don't know how it is for women or for other guys, but when I was young and in my 20s, I had a fear of marriage.”

“I first got involved with ending world hunger, and I got hip to the facts about it - what a huge problem it was and how it wasn't a matter of not having food or not knowing how to end it, but it was a matter of creating the political will.”

“It's funny. You succeed, but now where are you gonna go from there? I've got to keep proving that I can laugh or cry more real each time.”

“Do I have a long-term plan? Kind of. I have a general direction, I think. But it's funny what comes down the pike.”

“A large part of acting is just pretending. You get to work with these other great make-believers, all making believe as hard as they can.”

“Sobriety and health is the greatest thing.”

“Eating ice cream and not exercising is great. The downside is your health isn't so good.”

“I don't really consider myself one of those actors who takes his work home with him.”

“Sticking with a marriage. That's true grit, man.”

“I love John Irving's stuff. It's that marriage of comedy and tragedy. It's really terrific.”

“I love marriage.”

“When I was really young, my mom enrolled me in dance classes.”

“I think my love of journalizing my life comes from my mom.”

“My mom wasn't a movie star.”

“In life and in movies, it's a similar challenge, where you have expectations, and you end up in situations that are not meeting your expectations.”

“Movies are like magic tricks.”

“I'd maybe done about 12 movies when I decided that this was what I was going to do.”

“I'm used to watching old movies of myself.”

“Movies are very subjective.”

“I think there's a real joy in going to see movies when you discover them yourself.”

“Yeah, I've been interested in music since I was a teenager, always writing songs.”

“Technology is such a broad kind of term, it really applies to so many things, from the electric light to running cars on oil. All of these different things can be called technology. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with it, as I expect most people do. With the computer, I spend so many hours sitting in front of a computer.”

“I can see how a relationship with a writer would be an easy thing.”

“When I'm working, I'm very purposeful and everything else gets out of focus. Something I've had to work on together with my wife is how to acknowledge each other in the midst of this and keep the relationship going.”

“Most cynics are really crushed romantics: they've been hurt, they're sensitive, and their cynicism is a shell that's protecting this tiny, dear part in them that's still alive.”

“As far as the lack of hits goes, I think perhaps it's because I've played a lot of different roles and have not created a persona that the public can latch on to. I have played everything from psychopathic killers to romantic leading men, and in picking such diverse roles I have avoided typecasting.”

“Well, I'm not a big sports fan.”

“You know, I thought we could use a good myth about technology to help guide us through these particular modern waters right now.”

“My wife, whenever I'd go off to work and I'd be kind of anxious, she'll say, 'Remember, have fun.' Oh, I forgot, thanks for the reminder. Because sometimes we do forget. We take it all too seriously and there's a lot of joy to be had wherever you are.”

Click here to go back to main page.

Learn more about Jeff Bridges.