(Credit: Alamy)
Wed 14 May 2025 21:30, UK
Acting history is full of famous sibling pairs. The Baldwin brothers, Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elle and Dakota Fanning, the list goes on, and it also includes Beau and Jeff Bridges. The two can be seen plying their trade together in The Fabulous Baker Boys, playing fictional siblings as part of the titular lounge music act.
It wasn’t a major surprise that both brothers became stars, as acting was very much in their blood. Their mother, Dorothy, was an actor and poet, while their father, Lloyd, was a Hollywood star in his own right. Having appeared in a number of major studio projects in the 1950s and 1960s, Lloyd reinvented himself in the 1980s with appearances in various cult comedies. Fans will most likely recognise him as Steve McCroskey, the exasperated tower controller from Airplane!
Having a famous father comes with many perks. Not only does it open doors through the connections amassed as only fame allows, but it also gives you somebody to look up to and emulate literally from day one. Jeff has been very public about his admiration for his father, who passed away in 1998, and how he has used him as the model for some of his own performances.
In an interview with GQ reviewing some of his most acclaimed roles, Bridges was asked about the inspiration behind his character in The Contender. Directed by Rod Lurie, the film stars Bridges as Jackson Evans, the second-term President of the United States. Upon the sudden death of his vice president, Evans must select a new second-in-command. He lands on Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), who, if approved, would become the first female VP in history. Alas, an investigation into her life threatens to sink this potentially historical appointment. The story was inspired by the real-life affair between President Bill Clinton and intern Monica Lewinsky.
“As far as role models for that film—you know who I used is my father, Lloyd Bridges,” Jeff revealed. “I learned all my basics from my dad, acting basics, but the main thing I learned from him was something not in words or anything like that, but just observing how he was when he worked on a set. He enjoyed this thing that we do so much that it was contagious, and it kind of spread through the company… and I thought that was the same kind of energy that this President Jackson had. I think Clinton had it, he really enjoyed being president, you know, and I think Jackson did too.”
While complimenting your dad by comparing him to Bill Clinton is a dicey move, he does make an interesting point. Lloyd clearly had a passion for acting. He worked constantly during the early days of his career, sometimes appearing in over a dozen movies in one calendar year. He continued to work right up until his death, shooting so much that his final three films were all released posthumously.
Nobody would have been more aware of Lloyd’s devotion than his own son, who was able to take that quality and transplant it into his characters. For all his efforts, Jeff was nominated for the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ Oscar, a fitting tribute to his dad’s legacy.
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