Jeff Bridges Quotes

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.

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.

Live like you're already dead, man. Have a good time. Do your best. Let it all come ripping right through you.

Public charities, foodbanks and church pantries are doing more than ever before, but they can't keep up with the need. We can never end hunger only through the wonderful work of local charities. Like other Western democracies, we must end our national problem of hunger through national and political leadership. Charity is nice for some things, but not as a way to feed a nation. We don't protect our national security through charity, and we shouldn't protect our families and children that way either.

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.

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.

There's kind of a Zen aspect to bowling. The pins are either staying up or down before you even throw your arm back. It's kind of a mind-set. You want to be in this perfect mind-set before you released the ball.

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

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

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

My wife holds the kite strings that let me go 'weeeeeee', then she reels me back in.

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.

Everyone I meet is in my sangha. I don't know if that's the proper definition, but that's the way I'm going to hold it in my mind.

You've got to take care of yourself on the path, not just when you cross the goal line, because don't forget, wherever you are, that's the goal line.

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.

Movies are like magic tricks.

Always maintain a joyful mind. Appreciate the struggles as opportunities to wake up.

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.

Basically, one of the hardest things about being an actor is getting your first break. I'm a product of nepotism. The doors were open to me. I'd done several movies before I decided what I wanted to do.

The Oscar nomination is great. It's a great pat on the back. And I like that.

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.

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

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

During my early years, I thought I might be a musician. Like most kids, I didn't do what my parents wanted me to do. They were gung-ho that all their kids become actors. They loved showbiz so much. I am a product of nepotism, basically.

A fella who accepts himself and is relaxed into who he is - that appeals to people.

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

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.

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.

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.

This idea of how everything is interconnected, and the impermanence of things.. It sums up the human condition to me, and it helps me on my path.

Work takes me away from my wife, Sue, and my life in Santa Barbara.

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.

I wish I were more disciplined.

Sobriety and health is the greatest thing.

I love seeing somebody act real earnest and serious, like Jackie Gleason. He makes me laugh because he reflects back to me my own serious-mindedness and how ridiculous it all is. It's always easier to see somebody else in that position than yourself, and you laugh. It's like the classic slipping on the banana peel, or someone getting hit by a pie in the face. Why do those things make us laugh? Is it from relief, like: Thank God it wasn't me? Or is it something else: I'm being very serious now. I'm pontificating earnestly and solemnly about-POW! PIE IN THE FACE! The bust-up of certainty.

If you open your heart, then the object of your love becomes so precious because you are so open. And that philosophy, that caring, spreads.

You can change things, you can make things better.

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

Well, there are all kinds of gutters. Life will supply you with gutters.

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.

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

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

Execution is everything.

I'm drawn to the path of least resistance.

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

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.

The hoopla with all the award season is kind of mind-boggling. It kind of puts you on your heels.

Whenever I work on a part, I look at the world through the filter of the character and I pick things they might use through my observations of real life.

As filmmakers, we're constantly always looking for something to bring the audience deeper into the reality of the story we're telling.