Atlanta, GA 12/23/2010 11:01:05 PM
News / Entertainment

Jeff Bridges’ father inspired him never to get typecast.

The ‘Crazy Heart’ actor believes his reluctance to get too tied into one type of role has benefited his career, after witnessing the impact starring in a long-running TV series has for his dad Lloyd Bridges.

He explained: “I’ve watched my father closely and how he navigated his career in the industry. One of the things that brought him a lot of success, but also a lot of frustration, was his success in ‘Sea Hunt’. He was so into that role that people actually thought he was a diver!

“I remember doing a movie called ‘Blown Away!’ with him and before he got the part, the producer wasn’t keen – they thought he was a comedian because of the ‘Airplane!’ movies.

“I took my cue from that and tried hard not to create too strong a persona for a number of reasons – it makes it more interesting to play different roles, it puts a message out to filmmakers and pleasantly confuses the audience as to who I am.”

Though Jeff enjoys playing diverse roles, he admits he puts a part of himself into every character he plays.

He added: “They’re all different aspects of myself. I don’t really think of them as the good or bad but just different parts. It’s fun to play both.”