JEFF BRIDGES - MY LIFE IN 10 Pictures

“I’M A product of nepotism, man,” quipped Jeff Leon Bridges, who, along with his older brother Beau, was drawn into acting by their father, Lloyd.

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“My father really loved all aspects of the biz, and really went about turning his kids on to it. Like most things in life, that’s kind of a double edged sword…. The downside of it was that as a kid you don’t want to stand out.” Of course, once he decided to follow in his family’s footsteps, he more than stood out —sporting a diverse résumé, with pics from Thunderbolt and Lightfoot to Tron and Fearless, while accumulating seven Oscar nods along the way. But after his recent life-threatening battle with cancer, Jeff, who turns 75 on Dec. 4, feels his roles as grandfather, father and husband to Susan, his wife of over 45 years, is what counts most. “What I learned from that whole experience was: Life is constantly giving us gifts.

They may be gifts that we don’t think we want. [But] dealing with your mortality, it makes things more precious. I’ve got a wife who loves me, my kids, too, and I can bathe in that love. It’s all a gift.”

1 1958 IN THE HUNT “When I look at my performances as an 8-year-old in [TV’s] Sea Hunt, it makes me cringe,” admits Jeff. But working alongside dad Lloyd taught him an important lesson. “He created such a strong persona [as skin diver Mike Nelson] that it was very hard for him to get other kinds of roles,” Jeff explained. “I went about trying to switch roles for that very reason.”

2 1971 SHOW AND TELL