If it's hard to come up with a definite vibe when thinking of Jeff Bridges, there's a reason. His is a career marked with dozens of memorable performances, but no clearly defined persona, and that's by design. Interested having a variety of experiences rather than repeating the same thing over and over again, Bridges has avoided roles he thought would box him in too much.

The actor received his first Oscar nomination in 1971 for his poignant portrayal of a small town guy in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. From there he set about a body of work that includes films as varied as JAGGED EDGE, FEARLESS, THE FISHER KING, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS, TUCKER, and a memorable turn in the title role of "The Dude" in THE BIG LEBOWSKI.

So, it should come as no surprise at all that Bridges is a master of what his K-PAX costar Mary McCormack calls, "the dude school of acting." McCormack said he relaxed onset and not about making any kind of unnecessary fuss. He was always interested in just being around the other actors and everyone making the film. He's not inclined to the kind of movie star behavior that you might expect from someone who'd grown up in the industry.

What attracted you to this project?

The big thing I guess was that Kevin Spacey was attached and I liked the script. STARMAN came to mind. I thought, "Well, I get to play the Karen Allen part this time."

What was it like working with Kevin Spacey?

It's always great to have great players to play with. It's that way in acting or tennis or anything. There's a real element of pretending just like when you were a kid. There's an element of that to acting. When you get guys who are really able to commit to the reality of the film it makes the experience that much more real for you playing opposite them. Not that it has to be that serious all the time. You don't have to stay in character the whole time. I think Kevin and I both approach it that way. We let our own real personalities out between takes. We hung out and got to know each other during the film.

Do you ever take a character home with you at night? Does it ever effect who you are after the end of the filming day?

Well, I was doing an interview for JAGGED EDGE many years ago. In that film I play an evil, terrible character. And the interviewer asked me if I took that character home with me at night and I said no, that I really don't take my work home with me. And my wife was there and she rolled her eyes.

So, I guess I do take the character home with me. I don't think that I do. But I guess that I do. I'm not aware of it. It's funny. That relates to my character in this film, too. He's probably not aware that he's a workaholic and takes his work home with him. He's just into his thing.

How's your CD doing?

I sold 13 of them last week. It's tough, you know. I was so excited when I made that album. I got to work with two of my heroes: Michael McDonald and David Crosby. We formed a record label called RAMP RECORDS and we released my album (Be Here Soon) and Michael's album (Blue Obsession), too.

But we hit the wall with getting radio play. It's like making a movie and not having it in any theaters. So, the album is available through my web site, JeffBridges.com and it's available in some record stores as well. I'll probably be making more music. I just love it.

You're from a show business family. Your father Lloyd Bridges has had a long, distinguished career and your brother Beau Bridges has also had an amazing career. Does it matter to you what they think of your work?

I love them to love it. It's always great when they like it. But my taste is very different from my mom's taste. She'll like maybe fifteen or twenty percent of the movies I make. She likes this one. She loves it when I play a doctor. And when I played the President of the United States (in The Contender) she loved that.

Your dad (Lloyd Bridges) is in the classic comedy AIRPLANE. Would you ever want to do a broad comedy like that?

Yes. Absolutely. My dad is a very versatile actor. He had success with SEA HUNT and it was very frustrating for him because people just thought of him as this action and adventure kind of guy and he didn't get offered a lot of other parts.

Years later, I was doing BLOWN AWAY and there was this part of my uncle in the movie and I suggested my dad for the part. And they said that they thought of my dad mostly as a comedian because of what he did in AIRPLANE. They didn't want to consider him for a serious part. But you have to be careful of that. I've taken that as sort of a lesson for my own career, not to develop too strong a persona so that you can play different parts and you don't get typecast for very long.

How do you think a strong persona leads to typecasting?

It's too much baggage for the audience, not just the filmmakers. It makes it hard for them to superimpose the character over you.

Is there a kind of role you'd like to play in the future?

I really don't approach it that way. In fact, I find I spend a lot of energy resisting the kinds of roles people want to give me. I have this funny kind of thing where I'm attracted to a challenge and repulsed by it at the same time. It's exciting but it's also exhausting.

Have you always felt that way about the casting process?

It used to be a lot worse in my 20s. I used to even try to talk directors out of giving me certain parts and suggest other actors to play the part.

Are there specific roles that made you feel that way?

A lot of roles were like that. THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT. Michael Cimino, the director, said to me, "Look, it's like that game of tag and you are it. You don't have to worry about feeling like the character. You're not relating to the guy. You are the guy. Whatever you do the character does so you don't have to worry about feeling like the character." I've used that through my whole career.

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