Jeff Bridges is famously laid-back, but the Bagger found him chill to the point of being incommunicative when she met up with him in Manhattan this month \u2014 at least at first. Mr. Bridges, whose performance as a Texas Ranger in the modern western \u201c Hell or High Water \u201d landed him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor this week, had just 15 minutes to spare. After the publicists and assorted handlers (all of them women) left the room, the Bagger made repeated, futile attempts to get Mr. Bridges \u2014 who was making coffee with one of those pod machines \u2014 talking. But he just sipped from his cup and mumbled a few answers before she decided to launch in outright.
Well, should we start the interview?
You\u2019re the interviewer?
Yeah, it\u2019s me. I\u2019m with The New York Times.
What\u2019s your name again? I\u2019m sorry.
Cara Buckley, hi.
Cara, all right.
I thought, \u201cWow, he\u2019s really laconic. Just like the Dude\u201d (his fabled character from \u201cThe Big Lebowski\u201d). Are you talked-out yet about \u201cHell or High Water\u201d?
The promotion of movies these days is a lot more than it used to be. \u201cHell or High Water,\u201d you want to really get people to go see it and support what you\u2019ve done, and all of the hard work that has gone into it. So yeah, there\u2019s kind of a plus and minus thing to it.
In The Times, the reviewer described \u201cHell or High Water\u201d as an \u201ceasygoing thriller.\u201d And I think part of the easygoing-ness is you. It just seems like you\u2019re really relaxed about things. How can that be in this world?
It\u2019s because I\u2019m an actor. It\u2019s all an act. [Laughs]
Are you really tense and wound-up?
I can be. I do have a lot of tension, a lot of fear, and things like that. I would imagine most people do. It seems to me I\u2019m always kind of challenged about being in the moment.
I read that you\u2019ve said you related most to the Dude out of all your characters. Is that still holding true 20 years later?
I don\u2019t know if that\u2019s really accurate. I don\u2019t know if that was a quote from me or not. But, you know, the different parts I play, start with yourself and see what kind of lines up with the character. You might magnify those aspects of yourself that work with the character, or keep those parts of you that don\u2019t match to the curve. With [\u201cHell or High Water\u201d] a couple of things come to mind. One, my grandfather, Fred Simpson, on my mom\u2019s side, was from Liverpool. He was a terrible teaser. I think my brother [the actor Beau Bridges] inherited that gene, too, because Beau was a great teaser, still is. And that was part of my character. I remember when my brother would tease me and get me crying, and my mother would say, \u201cIt\u2019s just because he loves you so much,\u201d you know? That helped me with the stuff I had with Gil Birmingham [his co-star in the film, who plays] my partner who I enjoy working with so much. And then, as in most characters, you think about role models. All of us were so lucky to have Joaquin Jackson be a part of our show [as a consultant]. He died just recently , but he was one of the bad asses, a famous Texas Ranger.
What was it about the Texas Rangers, some of the characteristics you were able to latch onto or discern?
Well, you would think somebody who\u2019s lived a life like Joaquin\u2019s, that he\u2019d be tough. But he was very kind of a sweet; there was a gentle side to him.
People have asked you about Donald Trump and your hopes for his presidency. Do you have any?
What a wild time, huh? Oh my gosh. But one of his best features as far as I\u2019m concerned is that he\u2019s \u2026 I guess a less gracious word would be \u2014 he\u2019s a hypocrite. You don\u2019t know where he\u2019s going, he changes his mind. Maybe he\u2019ll surprise us. It\u2019s all over the place. So, you know, you\u2019ve got to have high hopes. But it\u2019s kind of a call to action, that\u2019s where I\u2019m looking at it.<\/p>\n

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