10
Ampersand
MayJune, 1980
JOloj
1 4 H5H
Still Looking for
His Best Shot
BY DAV1N SEAY
From his good oF boy starring role in The
Last American Hero to the hippie ecologist
in King Kong and the faltering whimsical
toy department clerk of Somebody Killed
Her Husband, Jeff Bridges remains essen
tially the same: his broad, open face, easily
winning smile and loose-knit frame reflect
a flaky optimism and off-handed charm
that seem a very real part of his character.
A man at ease with himself and his craft,
Bridges, the younger son of the famed
Hollywood acting family that includes
brother Beau and their durable sire Lloyd,
has had innumerable opportunities to
exhibit his singular cinematic presence
over nearly a decade. His early efforts
ranged from handsome, dumb Duane in
The Last Picture Show (for which he won a
supporting actor Oscar nomination) to an
intriguing rendering of a young 1930s
radical in The Iceman Cometh to the delight
ful would-be writer in Hearts of the West.
Through such spotty later efforts as the
hopelessly muddled Winter Kills, the
flawed but energetic Stay Hungry, the
macho Eastwood action flick, Thunderbolt
and Lightfoot (for which he earned a second
supporting actor Oscar nomination) and
the above-mentioned Somebody Killed Her
Husband, a Farrah Fawcett-Majors vehicle of
dubious merit, Bridges has emerged intact
if not exactly unscathed. He is a working
man doing his best in a chancy business;
failures and successes are met with equal
aplomb. It is, finally, just a job.
.Bridges' current efforts hold the pro
jects has declined from their promising
beginnings, Bridges is cognizant of the fact
that his reasons for accepting roles are dif
ferent from those of actors more con
cerned with image and career curves. It is
typical of Bridges that he decided to play
the lead role in King Kong, "because I loved
the movie as a kid. Maybe that seems kind
of cute when you consider that it was nine
months out of my life. How can you be
flippant about something that takes all that
time and energy? But sometimes I take
something on because
it sounds like fun."
an Academy Award directing The Deer
Hunter) as a Svengalian manipulator, wil
ling to sacrifice all, including human life,
for his vision. "Cimino is an intense guy,"
says Bridges, revealing his penchant for
understatement, "which was something
you could feel on the set. Each film has its
own rhythm, usually set by the director,
and Cimino created tension purposely. We
were asked to do some wild, dangerous
shit. But I enjoy that. It's all a question of
your point of view. For every guy on the set
who felt trapped there were two others
who, you know" and he lets out a lusty
Apache war cry "are into playing cow
boys and Indians.
"Cimino got a lot of people angry with
him," continues Bridges, "and it's hard to
work with someone you don't like." He
concludes with what sounds suspiciously
like a disclaimer. "I feel it's the
job of an actor to support
a director in what he's
doing. If you
There are,
of course, more
critical determina
tions, even for an actor with
Bridges' distinctly unorthodox style. "A lot
mise of an altered, if not entirely changed, has to do with the people involved, he al
screen presence. A meaty role in Michael lows. "Somebody Killed Her Husband was di-
Cimino's troubled epic, Heaven's Gate, rected by Lamont Johnson, who did Last
scheduled for release this Christmas, American Hero. I like certain people's style
could do for Bridges what Apocaplypse Now of working, or sometimes it's just the raw
did for Martin Sheen: that is, place a com- script. I remember I made a couple ot
Detent actor in a monumental settine. films with a fellow named Bill Richards.
Cutter and Bone, Bridges' most recent film The first was Winter Kills T Bridges agrees
is. bv his own estimation, the most "differ- with critics as to that him s almost total lacK
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ent role he has played to date. He duos
the character "a stud," something obvi
ously and quite refreshingly far from the.
relaxed and lackadaisical Mr. Bridges.
It is on the set of Cutter and Bone, or
rather in Bridges' rickety trailer in the back
of the Culver City sound stage where the
of sense. "When I saw the movie I really
didn't understand it. I mean, I made it,
and I couldn't follow it. But even after that
weird experience, I made another film
with Bill because I felt the guy had poten
tial. That one never got released.
"Sometimes, Bridges muses, you get
film's final sequences are being shot, that real creative people and a good script and
the veteran (at age 30) actor holds forth on it still doesn't come together. It's a kind of
a variety of subjects, beginning with his magic and you can't worry it too much."
unruffled approach to the manic demands Talk shifts to Heaven's Gate, one of the
of cinema. most controversial productions in recent
"I don't treat my films like precious little years and certainly the most expensive,
jewels," remarks a tanned, slim Bridges, Wildly over-budget, cloaked in thick sec
lounging on a couch. "I like doing variety recy that was breached only by bizarre tales
and films like King Kong, or the Farrah of a maniacal director mad with power,
thing, which are really 180 degrees from shooting endless re-takes of the same
my earlier stuff, are the kind of movies I scene while actors and crew simmered
really enjoy. If variety alone isn't enough near open rebellion, Heaven's Gate has
reason to finally jump into a film, I'll created the kind of advance publicity that
usually think up another reason. I'm not virtually guarantees box office glee. While
afraid of doing commercial Hollywood Bridges admits that the film's shooting was
films because that's what people like to see." "an extreme situation even by Hollywood
While not precisely defending himself standards," he is guarded in his estimation
against claims that the quality of his pro- of director Cimino (who won fame and
(
want the picture to be terrific you have to
give up some of your personal opinions
and rights."
But perhaps Bridges gave up too much.
"After Heaven's Gate, I never wanted to work
again. A script would have to be stunning
to get me involved, but after a while I just
got horny to work. I picked this (Cutter and
Bone) because it was by far the best thing
around." Pausing, he adds, "I've been act
ing all my life and I remember a time right
between Last American Hero and The Iceman
Cometh when I wondered if this was what I
really wanted to do. So I took Iceman Com
eth as a test to see if I really wanted to act."
The implicit question posed is not
answered as Bridges adds, "I'd like to be of
fered more parts that I'm not suited for, so
that I'd work harder at different kinds of
roles. Each job offers an opportunity to be
your one great shot, but so far I don't think
I've played it."
Unlike many of his more obsessed fellow
actors, the profession is, for Bridges, far
from an absolute justification for exis
tence. While he obviously enjoys his work,
he also finds pleasure in painting and
playing guitar, both of which he has
studied sporadically. Another area that
takes up much of his "present attention is
his recent marriage to Susan, a Slontana
native (they met while he filmed Rancho
Deluxe in that state). "I got married last
year," he explains, "and it was really
hard Tor me. It was either
get married or lose
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