Jeff Bridges Talks “Only the Brave," "The Big Lebowski" & More w/Rich Eisen | Full Interview

I could not be more thrilled than to have this guest sitting to my right who I will stop talking about like he's not sitting here the Academy Award winner himself in a new movie only the brave about the Granite Mountain hotshots couldn't be more timely and it's a terrific film I've seen it you should see it Friday October 20th with Jeff Bridges right here on the show good to see you Jeff good to be here thanks for coming in here thank you for coming in you're you bet so I don't even know where to start with you except obviously you have many films to your credit in your career was there any sports film that you ever got a chance to try out and yeah I guess stock car racing that's a sport I played junior Johnson kind of one of the guys who kicked off that sport right and I was in a movie called against all I recall that I got to play a wide receiver hung out with Bob Chandler a little bit learned a bit about that so what do you mean you've because you know you played a a football player on the back side of a career that's right yeah things kind of weren't going your way those were the odds that you were against yeah in a way yeah that's right I hung out with a Bob Chandler he was kind enough to give me some tips and we met at a restaurant and I remember he got in the chair and he was like he was like slowly sitting Joe Lee sitting down and getting up this family and he says yeah I'm just gonna play well maybe one more season maybe two I see you're kidding me you feeling like that he says yeah show up you know hours before the game and they you know getting the table and they've shooting me up with some stuff I like it move and I say well why are you doing that Bob and he says catching that long ball there's nothing like it hmm he says you know I feel like every time I catch that ball I feel like weeping just from ecstasy you know it's such you know I'm with all those guys I can't be crying on the field but that's what it feels like and right so he's it was worth you know going through that kind of pain and you were and you put that into your character in the film it was very helpful also another sports movie that comes to mind is a Seabiscuit I didn't you know I wrote in it but I didn't right in the races but got to play you know Howard the owner of Cephas he got worked with Gary Davis who's you know great jockey mm-hmm you got to meet those guys to be around it was get around horses that's an amazing Express the most dangerous sport in the world I think just getting on a well no they I mean yeah they you know stock car you got in the cage if you know these jockeys they're just out there yes oh my god sitting on well I mean you've you've written many horses since yeah yeah I love to ride yeah Jeff Bridges here on the rich Johnson show did you ever try sports did you ever try to play it before you guys well you know Mike I guess my sport I always have a sport it would be surfing that I just figured obviously your laid-back dude so that's right and you know tennis my dad was a big tennis player and my brother Bo hmm he was really the sport guy I mean his growing up he's my big brother you know eight years older and he taught me you know all the sports your how to throw a curve ball in Little League and I did I did some of that but bo he was scouted by the Dodgers he played under that right played under wooden at UCLA you know and he's not a tall guy but he played with your Walt Hazzard and that sure yeah yes the bow is the he's the real sports guy so John Wooden coaching overall yeah that's so yeah that's it that's his legendary City since that's something yeah yeah what would you what is your favorite sports movie before we get into your films well you know Raging Bull popped in my head that was a oh and I did a boxing movie - with John Huston Fat City I forgot about that John Huston yeah that's a sport movie okay yeah for sure age Stacy Keach hmm so you Raging Bull leaps to mind popped into my head some other good ones well I guess I mean there's the cut there's the the you know bang the drum slowly there's you know what I thought was the one that Tab Hunter was in Damn Yankees yeah yeah you're going old school yeah well I remember ditching school to watch that movie when I sodding the TV guy Jeff Bridges here on the Rich Eisen show so your current film let's talk about this right now because it couldn't be more timely with wildfires in other than California yeah wildfires here in Southern California it's only the brave about the Granite Mountain hotshots a group of elite fire fighters that it was the largest loss of firefighters since September 11th in the Yarnell fire that took place in June of 2013 what did you learn about this type of American Miss human being these human beings that fight these fires well I've appreciated firefighters for a long time I've lost a house and a malibu fire we lost 400 acres up in a ranch in Montana due to wildfires so I know these you know these guys and I so appreciate what they what they go through of course when you do a movie and you you meet these you know they meet the real guys I was fortunate enough to actually work with Dwayne Steinberg who was who was the actual guy that I play the wildland division Fire Chief of Prescott Arizona he was but he had retired a year before this Yarnell fire but he was very instrumental in bringing the hotshots together and getting their certification and it was so great to have him on board as well as a Brendan McDonough who was the lone survivor of this terrible fire so and as I said before the movie it's you know it certainly an important element is this tragic aspect to it but it's really centers on who these guys were you know and it turns out that they was just as imperfect as us you know they're just normal guys they got their demons that they're facing but they they practice this brave this bravery you know and that's something that I was left with after watching the movie we saw it again for the second time they had the premiere a couple of nights ago and you know it's inspiring when you look at these guys who risked their lives so selflessly you know you think well what what what in my life where can I be more brave where can I show up and make a difference like these guys okay and I just watching it myself Jeff I thought again of the people who are currently fighting and 100-degree well yeah your whether running towards the fire when people's houses are in dangers maybe they don't even know what these people are that's right and their bedrooms yeah and they just want to save these lives and I did think that too or I'm just thinking like so what what about me yeah introspective in that anyway I was very pleased to know that the producers of the film they've been the whole movie has been really supported by the families of the guys who perished and the producers of the film have set up Bay Granite Mountain fund so people can go to only the brave - movie.com and they can contribute to this Granite Mountain hotshots fund that supports these hotshots that you know protect us against these fires so we're get seeing so many of them you know it's terrible it is more but in its it like I said it's timely Taylor Kitsch who's in it a lot of sports fans know from fun night like he's wonderful he's terrific in it Josh Brolin miles Taylor James badge Dale and Jennifer Connelly who I've had a crush on since forever wasn't she something man in the movie oh yes she was yeah I paint Josh Brolin's wife yeah il me you are you're the best man I'd love to sit here in just 60 seconds we come back I want to talk some more about some of your films that I've been a fan of for quite some time we'll talk some Lebowski sure you've done hopefully you will abide when we come back in 60 seconds here with Jeff Bridges on the Rich Eisen show all right welcome back to the Rich Eisen show the Academy Award winning actor in only the brave and theaters near you coming up on October 20th Jeff Bridges here on the Rich Eisen show I want to go over some of the films of yours that I have been big fan of for quite some time already talked about against all odds Tron could technically be a sports movie would you say I mean yeah we did some sports in that it gets frisbee it would form the frisbee I mean not just any sort of when you were doing it did you have any idea of the video game culture that was busting out and in our country at the time and that that tap did you know when you said that video game and Steven list burger the director and the writer of that film yeah Tron was his first film and he came up with the idea said this is a you know all about the being sucked into a video game so he thought it was a good idea to line the walls of our studio with video games that you didn't have to pay for them were just on board and it was it was a wonderful idea in one sense and there was a lot of fun but I'd also kind of slowed the shooting down because you get locked in mad there's a game called what was it tank a battle zone okay you remember that Jam and I was locked into that man oh god and they would say oh come on you have already to oh man I'm preparing I'm preparing my rocks and I would get locked into that but see we're in a pacman God and they have that to a head pac-man all the proof pong you know we had pong I do that thinking of pong yeah you know Harry Dean Stanton just I just passed away yeah if you google Harry Dean Stanton and Jeff Bridges pong yes you'll see a huge scene it was amazing that the director lingered on this shot but I think it's very effective of the Harry Dean and my reflection in the pong game a movie called Rancho deluxe where I met my wife you know 45 years ago and Harry Dean and I are doing this scene ever of thought to put Jeff Bridges and Harry Dean Stanton in the same oh yeah you know that's that's good one right there then star man I always think of from the line from star man every time the light turns yellow at an intersection because of the or line star man I know yeah yeah I know I know all about how to drive what a green go red stop yellow go very fast is when I asked Charlie I think Charlie Martin Smith or Karen Allen Willard or towards the end of the movie I say you know what I like about human beings the most is when things are at their worst you were at your best I'm not pretty it's a neat movie star man is a really good one yeah for sure jagged edge is well right in the middle of the 80s where you were you what is your role on spoilers right now I mean is it safe to talk about the end of jagged edge even though well I want to see a movie I wouldn't know as little about it as possible do you like that mean you when you're lucky to you not get enough to see a movie having know nothing about it every once in a while I'll experience a movie like that I remember going to a Rosemary's Baby I'm sure on a matinee and I had know nothing about it and after that movie I was sure that all the theater attendants were war locked my god but spoilers that's a pretty old movie but what were you gonna say a jagged-edged I mean those who might not have seen it is your philosophy on on that skip the the twist you know okay so we don't know I said there's a twist that was there's a twist of no problem yeah and then let's get to it with the Big Lebowski how are you introduced to that film do you just get a script or no I ran to the Coen brothers a couple of years before that I guess and had a party in this who are writing something for you I say oh great cuz I was a big fan of Blood Simple and some other early as your own and then I got the script and I said what this isn't that not like anything I've done were you were you spying and we did you crash some of my high school parties and you let me worry where did this guy come from but I was thrilled to to work with those guys they're real they're real masters they know how to do it was that character based on anybody that you know yes based on the guy named Jeff Dowd for them you know they used him quite a bit I met him he came on the script I didn't use him too much I really referenced myself and the script yeah so you are how much the dude is in you that's where I that's where I start when I prepare for any film I think about aspects of myself that kind of paralleled the character and I might magnify certain aspects ones that don't fit a kick to the curb but that's it you know that's the beginning play you know when Mary's ophrys the costume designer we met at my home and I said you know we've tried a bunch of stuff I said well you come up to my closet let's just look around and she said what are these weird jelly shoes here so yeah those are good for the dude let's put those and oh look what's this t-shirt what's this weird Japanese lettering over this baseball guy what is that yeah so we just you know used a lot of my stuff what about the cardigan the cardigan sweater is that yours no that was that was Mary's but I scored the guy scored that afterwards where's that cardigan it's on the wooden statue of Howe type a bodhisattva you know character and I he's wearing my sweater in your house yeah is that right so that exists yes White Russians where did that come from that was just in the squares in the screen oh yeah okay yeah and given the choice would you roll on Shabbos or not well that's my partner I know I have no problem really good job I mean did you when did you realize that this film would become in many ways hey you can't even call to college it's a classic it's just flat-out classic now yeah yeah I was surprised because we had a great time making it and we were all you know laugh at him you know thinking you know this was a fun movie we didn't think it was gonna be anything like it was today but I was surprised when it first came out and did nothing it was like kind of a bomb and then it played in Europe and they got it and then it splashed back over on our shores and you know he grew to become one of our colleagues on the show Jeff Bridges here on the on the show for a couple more minutes one of the colleagues on our show here as a friend who went to alibi or in Iceland we got these we have Lebowski Fest I've been to her I played with my band at a little bow ski fan that was my Beatle moment playing to a sea of dudes and bowling pins oh my god it is like a psychedelic journey in itself right basically it's just it's just such a great movie executed so well and like many masters you know the Coen Brothers make it look like it's just nothing it's falling off a log yeah but when you really look at it man it is executed yeah they're so brilliant other geniuses I mean phrasing Arizona we could go on and on about Roger Deakins the cinematographer did such a beautiful job and you're not you don't think of it as you know didn't you have a movie that you know it's shot beautifully but if you look at that movie the camera is right with just where you wanna it's nothing show and there's no showing off it's just everything is just right Oh a couple more minutes with Jeff Bridges here now I want to talk about your dad for a second yeah okay your Lord know was in I don't know how many movies he was in over a hundred or highly and then he just a couple of things about him that maybe fans might not know about your dad even though I know I do and there's a bunch of people but airplane okay some of your dad's been to some great movies and some great TV shows but he played the role a belief of mccroskey oh yeah in airplane some of the more famous lines about picking the wrong week we got as the kids you know his kids we got such a kick out of it he's playing a total drug addict and it was the entities of who he was a real life it was such a hell freak but in the picture right there what is it like seeing your dad I kind of know tiny yellow shorts you are sure you know my father had a huge hit on TV called Sea Hunt in the 60s played as skin diver and he played it so well that people thought he was a skin diver and it was great news financially for him because you know really you know we moved into a new big house and everything after that but it was kind of depressing for him as an actor because he developed this strong persona that people thought that's who he was and he was offered a lot of skin-diving scripts you know you'll play this Kananga no no but he saw the the downside of developing a very strong persona because he was you know he knew Shakespeare was great comedian he was in you mentioned movies High Noon you know Gary Cooper and so I in Mike early my career I really tried hard not to develop a strong persona because I saw how my dad struggled with it so now we cut years later to a movie that we talked about called blown away and I'm talking to the producer and I say there's a wonderful actor who could be I'd like you to consider for my playing my uncle he kind of looks like me he's a good acting and the guy says all he laughs he said oh yeah Lloyd Bridges he's wonderful but he's really more of a comedian I said what are you talking about he says well you know airplane people are gonna the baggage I sell you're gonna make him read for the parties who would he read for the hawk so he comes in he knocks it out of the park you know and he is he plays my uncle so a guy who try to avoid being typecast as a sea diver was watch out and you're too good at something you get lucky looks like I picked the wrong week to stop drinking and smoking and then he was on Seinfeld Seinfeld as Mandelbaum that's right what was that like watching your dad at the end of his career on an iconic television show like that it was wonderful he you know was his health was you know kind of you know failing him then and but whenever he got onstage or in front of the camera you know he started lifting weights hey Jeff like I said I'm a huge fan of yours I could go on and on and on crazy heart for which you won your your Oscar hell or high water terrific True Grit I loved I mean last picture show as well going way back and now only the brave in theaters on October 20th come back please any time we'll really wouldn't enjoy then great by the way hey you know the one hand the Rich Eisen show weekdays at noon eastern on radio stations across the country and audience if you like that please download our app there's lots of fun things there other than just more of the videos you just saw you can call us from the app you can email us from the app just download it trust me you'll enjoy

Channel: The Rich Eisen Show

Views: 23,503

Keywords: rich eisen, rich eisen show, sports, tv, radio, entertainment, music, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, nfl, ncaa, cfb, college football, nba, nhl, mlb, pop culture, jeff bridges, only the brave, the big lebowski, beau bridges, seinfeld, lloyd bridges, airplane!, the dude, the dude abides, oscar, actor, academy award

Id: vYTZ3U8Gnf0

Length: 21min 17sec (1277 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 12 2017