News Mums Advice March 13, 2025 0 Comments

The one role Jeff Bridges wanted his father to play

(Credits: Far Out / Siebbi)

Thu 13 March 2025 1:00, UK

He might be best remembered as the semi-religious idol ‘The Dude’ from the Coen brothers’ The Big Lebowski, but there’s more to Jeff Bridges than just bowling balls and severed toes. He’s a seven-time Oscar nominee, eventually winning ‘Best Actor’ for his role as a troubled singer in Crazy Heart. Then there are big franchises like ‘Tron’ and the ‘Kingsmen’ series, as well as Iron Man. As the very first villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bridges holds a special place in blockbuster history.

Cinemagoers in 2014 might remember Bridges from the sci-fi drama The Giver. Based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Lois Lowry, the story is set in a world utterly devoid of emotion. Bridges plays the title role, a mentor figure to the film’s young hero, played by Brenton Thwaites. This was the culmination of a decades-long journey for the actor, who had been trying to get The Giver off the ground for some time.

“I was looking for a movie to direct my father, Lloyd Bridges, in,” the star told AZCentral. “I got a catalogue of children’s books and saw that cover, that grizzled old guy on the cover, and I thought, ‘Oh, my dad could play this guy.’ I wanted to make a movie with my dad that my kids could see. And I saw this children’s book that had the Newbery (Medal) stamp on it, and I found out later it was taught in schools, curriculums based on the book, and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to an easy thing to get made.’”

Bridges’ father had made a name for himself in the 1940s and ’50s. Lloyd had roles in the likes of High Noon, Sahara, and Little Big Horn, rubbing shoulders with Boris Karloff, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart, and many more. After a few decades in the shadows, Bridges had a resurgence through various spoof movies like Hot Shots! and Airplane! The father and son duo had appeared together in the 1994 thriller Blown Away but sadly passed away before Jeff could get the chance to direct him in The Giver.

“I later found out that it was on the list of banned books,” Bridges said of the novel, explaining why it took so long to get the project off the ground. “It was quite controversial. That didn’t bother me. Those are the kind of movies I like to see and to make. But it turned out that controversy was a little too strong to get it made. It took 18 years.”

Finally, after almost two decades of toiling away in development hell, The Giver saw the light of day. When it came to the title role, Bridges stepped into his father’s shoes, which the actor felt was the right decision. “I got more and more like that grizzled guy as I got older,” said the star, who was 64 years old when the film was released. “I feel like sort of an extension of my father. He was my giver, or one of my givers, both my dad and my mom. I’m kind of carrying on with his work, so I really feel him with me all the time.”

A sweet moment for the Bridges family. It’s just a shame that The Giver turned out to be one of a number of post-Harry Potter young adult landfill offerings from the mid-2010s. Poor Jeff.