Lively Bridges receives lifetime award
BEVERLY HILLS: Nearly seven decades after Jeff Bridges appeared as an infant alongside his mother in a film, the prolific – and sometimes underappreciated – actor gleefully accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards.
Bridges, known as “The Dude”, stepped onstage on Sunday full of energy, thanking everyone from his stand-in of nearly 70 years to his late parents.
He compared himself and everyone in the ballroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to a trim tab, the tiny piece beneath a ship that can change the craft’s direction, saying they can all “turn this ship around, man!”
He recognised Peter Bogdanovich for giving his start by casting him in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show.
He thanked Joel and Ethan Coen for giving him his signature role as the Dude in 1998’s The Big Lebowski, which became a cult classic thanks to his nonchalant, knitsweater wearing character Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski.
“If I’m lucky, I’ll be associated with The Dude for the rest of my life,” he said. “I feel honoured to be part of that film.”
Bridges, 69, comes from a strong acting lineage. He is the son of the late actors Lloyd and late Dorothy Bridges; his younger brother is Beau Bridges.
The DeMille Award is given annually to an “individual who has made an incredible impact on the world of entertainment”.
Past recipients include Oprah Winfrey, Morgan Freeman, Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster, Barbra Streisand, Sidney Poitier and Lucille Ball.—