Jeff Bridges Quotations | Page 3

We love things that are convenient.

Movies are like magic tricks.

Every couple of years we'll watch the movie and it's like watching home movies, seeing the ranch on-screen. But that movie [Heaven's Gate], people are appreciating it more and more as time goes on.

I'm not locked into playing one guy.

I've got a closet full of tuxes, and I appreciate that, because one thing I don't like to do is shop.

I'm pretty critical of myself as far as reaching some sort of perfect bull's-eye or target that I'm aiming for.

I hadn't talked to him in many, many years. He got a bad rap on "Heaven's Gate." I actually live in the hog ranch from "Heaven's Gate" in Montana. Mike [Cimino] gave me that set, the whorehouse, that's my house.

Life's picking up speed.

I'm also working closely with a group called the Amazon Conservation Team, helping with the rainforest in South America.

I've worked with a lot of first-time directors who kind of look to me for ideas and opinions and stuff, and I'm a team player.

Sometimes you feel you're making something really special and when it comes out you might still feel that way but for some reason it doesn't get the audience. So many things have to come together to get a creatively successful and financially successful film.

It can kind of screw up things if you're trying to overwork something.

It's a wonderful metaphor, catching a wave, for how you can look at other challenges in your life.

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.

Life is having its way with me now. And I'm really pleased.

I've done several commercials and I've done voiceovers for documentaries.

You know, ballet might be too formal of a title for the type of dance I do, but I love to dance.

Sometimes you'll have a movie that you're very proud of and you think it transcended all of your expectations but it doesn't come out at the right time. I have done movies that have never been released. That can be depressing.

One in four kids in the U.S. faces hunger.

I kept dreaming of a world I thought I'd never see, and then....one day....I got in!

Sure, I get the blues. But what I try to do, is apply joy to the blues, you know? I don't know if it's a technique, or just being bent that way, being raised by the folks I was raised by.

He [Michael Cimino] wasn't the typical filmmaker. I don't know if he had more in him, he certainly had a lot of scripts. I know he wrote a hell of a lot.

One of the things I want to do that's outside the realm of acting and the arts - although both have their place in this - is ending childhood hunger here in America.

What I learned most from my father wasn't anything he said; it was just the way he behaved. He loved his work so much that, whenever he came on set, he brought that with him, and other people rose to it.

I found that photography was a great way of relaxing on the set.

I thought bringing those two [Taylor Sheridan and David Mackenzie] together, odds are you're going to come up with something pretty good.

One of the greatest feelings in the world is knowing that we as individuals can make a difference. Ending hunger in America is a goal that is literally within our grasp.

When you truly commit in your life, you start receiving more than you could imagine.

"The Big Lebowski" is a real masterpiece, as far as I'm concerned. I suppose I'm a bit biased because I'm in it.

The problem with the designated driver programme, it's not a desirable job. But if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At then end of the night drop them off at the wrong house.

I just find my creativity manifesting a bunch of different ways.

If some crazy idea stays in my head for long enough, then there's no fighting it. I just say, Okay, let's go.

You have to find your tone and work within that to make it as real so the audience can really engage in the story you're telling.

The wonderful thing about acting is that you can use all of your talents and interests in your work.

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.

I'm always busy, but I'm lazy as well.

Fame really works against actors, in a way, because our anonymity is a wonderful thing for us.

As a kid, you want to be liked for who you are. You don't want to be liked for who your parents are. You don't want to get a job because of who your parents are. You want to do it on your own, with your own gifts and your own value. So, I decided to spare my kids that and not be as pro-active as my dad was.

You don't want to do what your parents want you to do. You got your own things. And the whole idea of getting a job because of who your father is - that didn't isn't right.

I went through a very hairy period. I had a movie where I was going to play Walt Whitman that fell through. At the time, I had grown this huge beard and very long hair. But then, the movie got canceled, I had some other parts, and I currently have very short hair. So, when I look in the mirror, I don't know who I am exactly. It's interesting.

Making films is sort of like you're pulling off a magic trick. It's sort of like an illusion. It's not real but you want it to appear real, and all kinds of things go into that, from the clothes you're wearing to the make-up, to the light.

Once, during an interview in front of my wife, I was asked, "Are you one of those actors who brings your character home? Do you stay in character?" I said, "No, not really. I don't do that," and she started laughing. I asked her why. She said, "Well, you might think you don't bring characters home, but you do." So, while I don't feel like a character is lingering, it probably is.

I've had really great experiences working with first-time directors. They come at filmmaking with fresh ideas. I've been very lucky that way.

We would do improvisation together. And that in a way, had almost a "student-film side" where we'd be sitting there with Robert Downey and Jon Favreau and we're playing around, we're jamming around and we read those pages and in next couple of days that's what we do, so it was a good experience. Kind of frightening at first because you didn't quite know how it was going to work out, but they had some very talented people there so it worked out well.

I play music as much as I can. I have a band called The Abiders. We've put out a couple of albums you can find on iTunes. We tour and all that stuff, so music is very much a part of my life.

Poverty is a very complicated issue, but feeding a child isn't.

It's not enough just to treat women well. We have to work to make sure all men treat women well.

This is many, many years ago. It was shortly after "Starman" I think. I don't know how close I was to getting the part. I met with [director] Penny Marshall and that's one that I knew would be a hit. It just felt hit-ish. But it's like you go to a store and you see a jacket and you go "I love that jacket" and you try it on and it's too big or too small for you and it's the only one they have. For some reason that part just didn't fit me.

Taylor Sheridan I think wrote a very good script. It reeked of authenticity. He seemed like a guy who knew what he was talking about and it turned out that Taylor's uncle is a Marshal, so he knew things from that side.

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.

What are the aspects of yourself that line up with the character? You magnify those, and the ones that don't match up you kind of kick to the curb.

When you're a professional you gotta do it [your job] when you don't feel like doing it.

I confessed to Mike [Cimino] a couple of days before we shot. I was like, "What am I doing here, Mike?" And Mike just looked at me, in that very directorial manor, took a long pause, and he said, "You know the game tag?" And I said, "Yeah." And he said, "Well, you're it." That was some of the best direction I think I've ever received.

I wish I were more disciplined.

35 million people in the U.S. are hungry or don't know where their next meal is coming from, and 13 million of them are children. If another country were doing this to our children, we'd be at war.