As Cogburn and Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) journey with young Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) and into the desolate Arkansas winter in search of her father's killer, their triangulated sparring achieves a wry grace by which each is transformed -- perhaps none more so than Cogburn, the surly, sauced lawman redeemed through one girl's own unwavering commitment to the laws of vengeance. I spoke with Bridges about reuniting with the Coens 13 years after their first landmark collaboration, settling in alongside Steinfeld, his character's rather interesting accent, and riding the Oscar wave all over again.
Congratulations on your Oscar nomination, your sixth overall and second in as many years. In what ways does having now actually won change your perspective on being nominated -- especially just a year later?
Well, it's always kind of a thrill and a surprise and very exciting, so that remains the same. Every time I walk down one of those red carpets, you think I'd be used to it after all these years, but it's like it's happening for the first time.
Really?
Yeah. You think you'd get used to it, but it's always kind of a wonderful assault of sorts.
You were very much front-and-center in last year's awards race; this year, it's fair to say you're a dark horse. Having won, and facing the prospect of an even steeper climb, is it worth chasing it again? Is once enough?
Absolutely. Once is plenty. None would be enough, too; I'm not one of those guys chomping at the bit to get an award. That's not really why I'm doing what I do. But being the dark horse is kind of a win-win situation in a way. In one sense, if you win, you know, it's wonderful to be acknowledged that way. And if you don't win, it means you don't have to get up and go through the anxiety of forgetting people's names and all that. That was one of my giant faux pas last year: I think the first award I won last year for that part, I wanted to make sure I got up and thanked our wonderful director Scott Cooper. But instead of thanking Scott Cooper, I went on and thanked Chris Cooper. I was going on and on about what a wonderful director Chris Cooper is until I heard my wife shouting out in the audience: "Scott! Scott!" So all my nightmares came true, I guess.
True Grit represents your biggest hit to date as a leading man. At this point in your career, what does it mean to you for this movie and this role to reach as many people as it has?
It's gratifying to have people like your work, especially work that you like yourself. And as you were saying, there's all the campaigning that's involved. That's definitely the hardest part of the job, in a way. It's sort of like the barker at the carousel: "Come see our movie!" You know? But the awards serve a couple purposes. One is to salute the people who've done good work that year. But it's also a chance for the industry to show its wares. There's a bunch of barkers at the carousel. That's basically one of the biggest functions of the awards: to get people to go to the movies. I consider a part of my job to be that barker, especially for movies I enjoy so much. Like Crazy Heart. God, I had such a great time making that movie; it was a movie I love. So it was a real joy to go out there and tell people about it and to go see it.
I feel real similar about True Grit. I'm so pleased with what everybody came up with in this movie. I'll go out and do a bit for that, too. And it's a hard part of the job, again, because it takes you away from your family and all the other stuff you've got going.
Is it any more special that you've achieved that with the Coen brothers, for whom this is also an unprecedented success?
Yes! I mean, they did The Big Lebowski, which also has a fond place in my heart. They are masters. I don't think it gets any better than the Coen brothers. They're the guys, you know? They really know what they're doing, and they make it look so damn easy, as a lot of masters do.
I can't imagine you're the same actor you were -- or that the Coens are the same directors they were --13 years ago making The Big Lebowski. How did you sense your creative relationship having changed during that time? How did it reflect itself on the set?
It might have changed, but I certainly didn't sense it. Lebowski was quite a while ago, and you'd think that we would have changed over those years. But it really just seemed like a long weekend, and we just picked up where we left off creatively. The Coens have assembled a wonderful family of artists -- Roger Deakins was the DP on Lebowski as well, and Mary Zophres was the costumer. There's a slew of people they work with all the time, so I think there's kind of a familial vibe on set. That was the same on both movies.
Well, several things. Just as a person, she has a real sweetness and a generosity of spirit, and I think a lot of that, to a large degree comes from how she was raised -- the bed she was born in. She was very fortunate to have two wonderful parents in Pete and Cheri; they were on the set all the time. She has something that I think is kind of rare in most kids in this day and age; most kids who are 13 or 14 years old are really chomping at the bit to start dating and getting in cars and all that stuff. And Hailee doesn't seem too eager to be older than she is. She's really appreciating her age. And in a very odd way, that makes her more mature. She's very at home in her skin. And so that makes her very pleasant to be around; her head is really screwed on right, just as a person.
And that affects her work ethic. One of the reasons that she got the part in the first place was because she could say those words. It was a very difficult role, I think, for any actor at any age. She got her tongue around those words, and she made it look easy. But that was a lot of studying and a great work ethic to come up with that. And she has great access to her emotions. All the skills -- or talents, I guess -- that actors wish they had, she's got them in spades. And she enjoys the whole thing! She enjoys the whole process.
Speaking of the language and the dialect, how did you develop Cogburn's accent?
Like you say, you take it from the book. That's where you start. And then the Coen brothers. The thing that's kind of great doing a movie based on a book is that you get so much more information about the characters and the times and the places from the book -- what the characters are thinking and all of that. That all influences how the words are spoken. Then you're working with the Coen brothers and getting all their input on it. You're just thinking of the kind of character he is -- a heavy smoker, heavy drinker. That affects the voice and all that.
Do you ever think you might have gone too far with it? That the meticulous language of Charles Portis and the Coens crosses into unintelligibility?
Yeah, and I don't blame that on the language as much as my delivery. I've heard that from some people -- that they couldn't understand me for a lot of the words. I'm kind of sorry about that; maybe I should have put more consciousness into that. We did put a bit of it [in], though. It's funny: When you're acting, there's a lot of different aspects to it. Being heard is certainly an important aspect! But also, you get into the groove, and into the character, and he starts to kind of do you, you know? And in life, you notice you often don't understand people. The Coens and I were concerned about that and worked on that, and we picked it up to the degree it is right now. Maybe we should have gone farther on that.
Your Oscar acceptance speech last year was kind of epic. What was your plan on your way up there, and as the speech went along, how did you think you were doing?
I had some thoughts I wanted to say, and then when they say your name -- "And the winner... Jeff Bridges" -- a white light just kind of blinds you. Bling! And all your thoughts and preparation go out the window. And it's like an improv: You're there, and then you just get out of the way and let the moment come through you. I guess that's kind of the essence of it.
And of course afterward, your Thank-You Cam appearance backstage was instant legend -- something like nine minutes long.
Really?
Yes! Oscar's first filibuster! What inspired that?
Well, when you get nominated, you get a letter from the guys producing the thing that says you have 45 seconds to do your thank-yous. So it's like, "Ah, shit," you know? But, they said, the good news is that they're going to have these cams off to the side, and you can talk as long as you want and thank as many people as you want. So I took 'em up on that. And I know I left several people out of even that one.
I was just about to ask if you have anyone left to thank if your name is announced this year.
Winning is a double-edged sword. It's wonderful to win, but getting up there... I mean, there are so many people to thank! It's a collaborative art form, and there are so many artists you work with on the show. But it's also your life. Like I was saying about Hailee, the fact that she has these wonderful parents and is a wonderful person really informs her work so much. I know I kind of went on about my family up there, but they're so responsible for that performance as well. So I don't know. If for any reason it does come out, I'll probably just do the same thing -- just let it rip, I guess.
Let me ask you about Tron: Legacy, which, even among Tron's devoted following, was kind of received as a mixed bag over the last month. How do you think it turned out? Was it everything is should have -- or could have -- been?
Well, making movies -- for anyone who's involved in making them, I guess, but I'll just speak personally about myself -- is kind of red-light, green-light. There are things you could have done better or things you could have done a different way. And that film, as with all films, is filled with those kinds of things. But I think all in all, it succeeded in using all the modern technology to tell this story, and I think the fact that [Tron writer-director] Steven Lisberger was still involved kept the mythology in line with the first one. But yeah, I've gotten very mixed things about it; some people like the story, some people don't like the story. I haven't really delved into the reviews -- especially the reviews from fans of the first one. I haven't been on any Tron Web sites. Have you? Do you know?
Not really. But at our site, and among friends and colleagues who've seen it, it's been kind of problematic. I think a lot of it is attributable to the ownership they feel over the original.
That's kind of cool. What are they saying?
One colleague suggested the movie makes up or changes its rules as it goes along, perhaps unnecessarily prolonging it.
Well, that's true. Even for the first one, the rules were kind of made up as we went along, you know?
Finally, last year we also spoke about your photography and why you'd never directed. You mentioned it wasn't a priority but that you might like to do it someday. Are you any closer?
Enh, no. But it's fascinating: I give a lot of input when I'm acting. 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 throw a lot of that stuff out. So that kind of scratches a lot of the directorial itch, you know what I mean? And I don't have to invest the time that directors do. I mean, directing a movie is basically a year out of your life. So to mount something like that, you've got to really want to do it. And I've got a bunch of other stuff I like doing. But if it came about, and I found some material and this directing urge started bubbling up, it's not something I would take lightly. I'd really consider it. It's wonderful. I've produced a couple of films and really enjoyed starting it from the very beginning and seeing it all the way through to the end; that was very gratifying.
[Photos: Getty Images]