Jeff Bridges Quotations

With a labyrinth, you make a choice to go in - and once you've chosen, around and around you go. But you always find your way to the center.

I have a cycle that is not particularly cool, but it's a cycle: trash myself to reward myself.

Most cynics are really crushed romantics: they've been hurt, they're sensitive, and their cynicism is a shell that's protecting this tiny, dear part in them that's still alive.

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

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.

For me and my wife, it was love at first sight.

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.

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.

I had years of partying, and I was kind of surprised and happy I survived it all. Now, being a parent, I look back on it thinking, Oh God, the things you did!

Technology is such a broad kind of term, it really applies to so many things, from the electric light to running cars on oil. All of these different things can be called technology. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with it, as I expect most people do. With the computer, I spend so many hours sitting in front of a computer.

We're here for such a short period of time. Live like you're already dead, man. Have a good time. Do your best. Let it all come ripping right through you.

Your part can be the king, but unless people are treating you like royalty, you ain't no king, man.

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.

The more space and emptiness you can create in yourself, then you can let the rest of the world come in and fill you up.

Often when I finish a film I'll have that feeling inside me: 'I never want to do this ever again. I don't want to pretend anymore. I want to be myself and do that.' And then, thank God, that feeling goes away after a month or so and I'm raring to go again.

I'm drawn to the path of least resistance.

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.

Eating ice cream and not exercising is great. The downside is your health isn't so good.

Often, when I finish a film, I'll have that feeling inside me: 'I never want to do this ever again. I don't want to pretend anymore. I want to be myself and do that.'

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

I guess I'm not like Emily Dickinson who keeps things wrapped up in a ribbon in their top drawer.

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.

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

My father was so in love with showbiz, all the different aspects - what we're doing here, making the movies, everything about it.

I don't even know what Instagram is, All of this high-tech stuff is supposed to set us free and make life easier. To me, it makes it more difficult and demanding.

But it's tough what we're doing here -- selling a movie. I like to know to as little as possible about movies that I'm interested in seeing.

My m.o. as far as choosing projects is I really try not to work. I try to not do the scripts that are offered me.

I've been interested in music since I was a teenager, always writing songs.

I've always tried to mix up my roles as much as I can.

I've lost three of my buddies. Three of them died, and I'm the one who survived. They weren't just co-workers, they were my friends.

Ballet might be too formal of a title for the type of dance I do, but I love to dance. I love to draw and paint; I do ceramics and photography. I'm interested in a lot of creative stuff.

I guess it's out on the edge but it's a wonderful edge to play out on. And, with a playmate like Terry, it makes it all the more enticing.

And that's one of the great things about actors: their willingness to play and to do something.

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.

I wish I were more disciplined.

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.

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

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

Sobriety and health is the greatest thing.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

"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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Life's picking up speed.

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.

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

I'm not locked into playing one guy.

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.

Movies are like magic tricks.

We love things that are convenient.

To go into therapy is an adventure, not really to iron anything out.

I loved working with my brother [Beau] and my father [Lloyd] whenever that happened. I had a wonderful experience making "The Fabulous Baker Boys," which I felt was a great movie, too.

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.

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

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

I have my prized possession in my wallet. That's a photograph of the first words I ever uttered to my wife, and her answer to my question when I asked her, "Will you go out with me?"

That's one of the cool things about fame. You have an affect on society and where it goes.

Sometimes I think of movie acting as advanced pretend.

Myths are wonderful tools that we've had, oh, for eons now that help us navigate the situations we find ourselves in.

My website's kind of fun for me. I get to do drawings on that. It's kind of fun.

My mom wasn't a movie star.