The Prop Culture Interview: Jeff Bridges - The Dude Talks Props

By Scott A. Buckwald

Talking to Jeff Bridges is a pleasure like no other. There exists an oasis of calm and serenity. While many know him as “The Dude” from The Big Lebowski, his career boasts a remarkable range of nuanced and memorable characters, from his performances in The Last Picture Show and Tucker: The Man and His Dream, to his Oscar-winning portrayal of Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers’ remake of the classic Western, True Grit, and most recently, Dan Chase in The Old Man. Beyond acting, Bridges is a talented musician, a visual artist, and, as I have had the pleasure of discovering firsthand, a captivating storyteller. He views filmmaking as a deeply collaborative and communal art form, emphasizing the importance of his relationship with the Property Master as part of what makes him look good and helps him to define his character.

From Bad Blake’s Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar in Crazy Heart to The Dude’s White Russian in The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges has interacted with some of cinema’s most iconic props. He is a meticulous craftsman, deeply invested in every detail of his roles. He generously shares his insights on how specific props have contributed to his process, and the subtle ways they aid in building his character development. He also shares his fondness and his appreciation for the collaborative relationship he has with a film’s Property Master, highlighting their crucial role in the filmmaking process. Jeff delves into specific props from his most celebrated films, sharing stories of their creation and how they contributed to the authenticity and resonance of his performances. Jeff Bridges’ enduring legacy is a testament to his talent and his grounded approach to the creative process.

JEFF BRIDGES: So here we are! Happy to talk to you about this. Congrats on your new mag!

PROP CULTURE: Well, thank you very much! Forming the Property Masters Guild was a long time in the making, and we recognized the need for our own magazine as well.

JEFF BRIDGES: Yeah, I checked it out. It looks wonderful. Really great.

PROP CULTURE: I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to sit with me for this interview.

JEFF BRIDGES: Well, it’s great to hang with you.

PROP CULTURE: With Prop Culture, our aim is to go beyond the typical industry trade magazine. We’re striving to create something engaging and fun not just for Property Masters, but for everyone in the film industry and even film enthusiasts and fans outside of the business.

JEFF BRIDGES: What you just mentioned about making the magazine of interest to a lot of people, not just Property Masters,brings to mind one of the things that I love about our business. The blending. When I think of moviemaking, you’ve got all these different departments. You’ve got makeup, costumes, property, acting, writing, all these different things and they all kind of blend. Props and costumes are often so interconnected. It’s the working together of all these different factions that respect each other coming together and working together. This is the way the world could work in a more beautiful way.

PROP CULTURE: I think you can see that harmony in the final product.

JEFF BRIDGES: There is a vibe and a tone that is created. It kind of trickles down, you know. Often people say, well, what does a producer do? On The Old Man, there were great guys like Warren Littlefield and John Steinberg and Dan Shotz, our showrunners. These top guys are setting the tone, right? They’re casting not only the actors, but the cinematographers, the prop guys, you know, everybody. The task is getting out of the way. I’m not there to be Jeff Bridges. I’m being a character. I have to interact with things that may feel opposite from my natural impulses. That’s what I count on from a Property Master, who will bring me things I didn’t even think of. The Property Master may give me a pair of eyeglasses and say, “This is what my thinking was for your character.” And I go, oh, I never thought of it that way. Okay, I’m going to go with your idea instead of my idea. I look at it the same way from a director. The director may have a different idea for a scene, and I will go with his idea over my idea because that helps separate myself from the character.

PROP CULTURE: When you are still in preproduction, and the Property Master presents you with cases of watches and eyeglasses, even before you’ve seen the more substantial props, what’s your initial reaction? Do you first consider what will look best on Jeff Bridges onscreen, what suits the character, or a combination of both?

JEFF BRIDGES: Well, that’s what’s so wonderful about making movies. You are not doing it all by yourself. It’s a group communal art form. We are all working together. I am fortunate to have a Property Master thinking about what prop best suits this guy and a costume designer thinking about what this guy would wear and the production designer thinking what the house would look like and what he has on his bookshelves. All these things as an actor when I’m starting a part, I’m not thinking about that stuff. I’m thinking about backstory and stuff like that. But to have these department heads like the Property Master, who are experts that are skilled to hone in on these details is invaluable.

PROP CULTURE: From an actor’s perspective, how crucial are props to establishing an authentic film setting and narrative?

JEFF BRIDGES: I’m thinking about a cooking scene we had in The Old Man. I’m not much of a chef personally. But I could see there was a lot of thought and detail put into the props. That was so helpful for me to think about. I loved having all the ingredients put out. What is that called, “mise en place”? Look to the experts who are there, and they will give you some great ideas. I appreciate it when prop people are thinking that way, too. Are you thinking of yourself as this guy or as that guy? Those are all great questions I appreciate from the Property Master when he comes to me, because it helps me to define my character. When you have to make the choice and that becomes the guy!

PROP CULTURE: Looking to the experts, let’s talk about the guitars in Crazy Heart. Since you are a guitar player, did you come to the project with specific guitars you wanted to use for Bad Blake, or did you work with the Property Master or music supervisor to find the right ones?

JEFF BRIDGES: Well, that’s one of those blends. T Bone Burnett, who produced the music for Crazy Heart, was such an integral part of me being involved in that project and the music that went into it. We went into detail about what guitar I should play. We looked in the mirror to see which ones looked good and did a lot of research. A lot of the country guys said the top guitar was the Gretsch Country Gentleman. We wanted flat wound strings on it, and we got into the details of that. And when I went over this with the prop guy, he said, you guys take that one!

PROP CULTURE: The Gretsch that you played in Crazy Heart is also the one you now prefer to use when you perform onstage, correct?

JEFF BRIDGES: (Laughs) I took that guitar home with me after the show. That’s the guitar that I played when I was going out with my band, The Abiders! I’m not much of an electric guitar player, but I got used to that one.

PROP CULTURE: Thinking about The Big Lebowski and Crazy Heart, both The Dude’s bowling ball and Bad Blake’s Gretsch guitar seem pretty important to those characters’ identities. Do you see the bowling ball holding the same kind of significance for The Dude as the guitar did for Bad Blake?

JEFF BRIDGES: You know, it’s interesting, The Dude and bowling. I’ll tell you a story that just pops into my head. The Coen brothers said there is so much bowling and I’m not a bowler. I don’t know anything about bowling, so they had this expert, this world-class bowler, come and teach us how to bowl. I asked him, what was your technique, and he said, I just throw the fucking ball, and I don’t think about it. It’s funny in Lebowski, you don’t see The Dude bowl. Not once! Another thought just popped into my mind. A White Russian is vodka, Kahlúa and some cream. The Property Master says why is it cream? Why isn’t it just a powdered creamer? And I loved that! That’s a great idea. That wasn’t his choice. He would have liked to use some half and half. The Dude might have a specific thing he likes, but if that’s not  available, put some powdered creamer in there. What the hell!

PROP CULTURE: Has there ever been something you had to do over and over again that you found less than enjoyable?

JEFF BRIDGES: When I was doing Tucker, I had to smoke because the guy I was portraying, Tucker, died of lung cancer. He smoked three packs of Lucky Strike or Chesterfield unfiltered a day. And so, oh God, that was challenging.

PROP CULTURE: In Crazy Heart, you faced a similar situation with Bad Blake. You again had to portray a character who was a heavy smoker.

JEFF BRIDGES: Yeah, I tried those herbal things. I didn’t like that at all and found them just as bad. But at least Blake, he would smoke filtered cigarettes. But those were terrible. There was this other thing that happened on Tucker. There was a scene where the character just gets very mad at his team that was building this car, and there’s all these plans that are on this bulletin board and he hits the bulletin board. You know, just punches it. Like any of these things where there’s a lot of passion, a lot of violence, you start very slowly, like with a fight scene. It’s like a dance. You’re learning these steps because it can be dangerous. You can hurt yourself or somebody else. I think it was on the first take when I punched it. This was early in the shoot, and I went fuck, I’ve broken my hand! It’s the first week of shooting and they’re going to replace me. Francis (Francis Ford Coppola) says, “Go to the doctor and find out what’s going on. Let’s break for lunch.” And yeah, the doctor said it was broken.

PROP CULTURE: Oh no, so what did you do?

JEFF BRIDGES: Well, Francis says, “You get a cast on it and then when you are in the scene, you’ll take the cast off and then when you’re done, you put it back on. What do you want to do?” So, I said I’ll just punch the bulletin board with my left hand. So, I did that, and I almost broke my left hand! But I didn’t examine it enough to see. And so, for the rest of the movie, I had this cast on my hand that I had to take off during the scenes. And Francis finally said, “You know what? Just fuckin’ leave the cast on and if you’re not thinking about it, the audience will never see it, right?” And that’s what I did! And there’s only one scene when I look at the movie where you can see the cast. It’s when I’m in an ice cream parlor and I’m spinning around on a chair, and I see the cast. I had to use all my powers of restraint, not to mention it when I was doing press for Tucker, because I didn’t want people looking for that.

PROP CULTURE: One of the many things that impressed me working with you on The Old Man, was your care and control while using firearms. Do you have any interest in firearms in your personal life, or is it purely a professional skill you cultivate for your characters?

JEFF BRIDGES: No, that’s not part of my personal life. I handled guns when I was in the Coast Guard. But in movies, I’ve done a lot of work with firearms.

PROP CULTURE: Let’s discuss the use of firearms in filmmaking. When a film involves weapons, what do you expect from the Property Master regarding the handling of firearms and ensuring safety?

JEFF BRIDGES: Well, I expect them to be more conscientious and more careful than I am. And I’m very careful and, you know, I’ve been around. So, you have to be extra-extra careful as I am, but I am counting on the prop guy. That’s why I appreciate being shown the gun and looking through the barrel so I can see that light shining through. And I look at all the blanks and we go through that together. There’s a protocol that we follow and that is just so important! Also, the actors need to all be in on it, too. I am so thankful for prop guys who are as careful as they are. Again, it’s working together, the collaboration thing.

PROP CULTURE: Does working with a real weapon help accentuate your performance with a character like Rooster Cogburn in True Grit? Does having a prop that has the right weight and feel lend something that a rubber double would not?

JEFF BRIDGES: Yeah, yeah. Something real in your hands feels very important. But sometimes you can’t. For safety is the main reason or sometimes just for practicality. I’m looking at the fake axe from White Squall. I don’t take many props home with me, but this one I seem to have taken. It was the axe I used to try and get my wife out of the boat when she was locked in underwater. We didn’t want a real axe. It didn’t help the illusion to use a real axe. I always appreciate how realistic the look of these props are.

PROP CULTURE: What happens when a prop is a pure fantasy piece with no real-world equivalent, how do you approach it? How do you know what to expect from those props and what do you need from the Property Master to make them believable?

JEFF BRIDGES: Usually, when I think about those things, I am amazed, and I really appreciate what the prop guy comes up with. Because like I said, that’s their department and he’s really into it. A prop that comes to mind is this magical staff I used in Seventh Son. I was playing this wizard and I had a magical staff. Now I like to paint and sculpt. I’m a creative guy. So, I got very into what that staff looks like. It’s going to be a major prop. It’s going to be right next to my face. I don’t want it to look out of tone with the rest of the movie. So that’s an instance when I partnered with the prop guy. This is what we think, but let’s think more drastic and then let’s go real simple. Then we would go to the director. This is part of my process, but the director is the boss. By treating him that way and empowering him with that, it takes all the pressure off me. He’s the guy who’s going to put it all together. I’m also thinking of the props from Starman, those balls. I think they were just giant ball bearings, but they had this great weight to them, and we had one that was triggered to light up through my fingers. I was so pleasantly pleased with what the prop guys came up with on something like that. It’s a communal art form!

PROP CULTURE: It really is a communal effort, and you hold that very dear.

JEFF BRIDGES: Do you remember on The Old Man putting that electronic laser listening device thing together? Do you remember how we worked on that together? Arranging where all the pieces were on the table and what order that we are going to do it. That was something we really worked on.

PROP CULTURE: I remember you and I were trying to get it right, and I remember the director was getting impatient because she just wanted to move it along.

JEFF BRIDGES: Yeah, right. Sometimes you have to truncate it. You don’t always have time to get it exactly right. The director has her point, too. There’s only so much time we can do it. Maybe we don’t make it as complex. I’m really a team player in this thing. You know, making movies is all about illusion, and this isn’t real. And like I said, I’m so lucky to have all these experts around me who are specialists, and I want to encourage them to not hold back. You shouldn’t feel, don’t bother him. I’ll say, if you’re seeing something that’s a little off, let me know. Keep the channels open.

PROP CULTURE: Switching gears a bit, let’s talk about Jeff Bridges, the movie fan. Are there any props from Hollywood history that you would love to own?

JEFF BRIDGES: Yeah, I’d love my dad’s (Lloyd Bridges) boots from High Noon. I’d also love my dad’s tanks from Sea Hunt. Also, his mask and his wet suit. That’s where I started my career, on Sea Hunt. I was 8 years old.

PROP CULTURE: I love what reference you hold for your dad. It’s always so heartwarming to hear. What’s next for you?

JEFF BRIDGES: Well, let’s see. I’m getting into music a lot. There’s some music that I made back in the ’70s, and this outfit called Light in the Attic is putting an album out made of these tunes. So that’s kind of fun. I’m looking now on my shelf, and I see my original Tron helmet. It was basically a hockey helmet with a bunch of black tape on it. Then I’ve got the third installment of Tron. That’ll be coming out soon. Movie-wise, you know, I’m pretty tough to drag to the party to make a movie in the first place because I know what it entails. It’s a lot of hard work. Very enjoyable but it’s a lot of hard work and being away from my family.

PROP CULTURE: Well, you can always work with me as a Prop Assistant.

JEFF BRIDGES: (Laughs) Oh God, I think I’ll pass on that one.

PROP CULTURE: Jeff, thank you so much for taking the time and sharing all of this. It’s really been such a pleasure. It really means a lot to have you come out and support the Property Masters Guild by doing this Prop Culture interview. Any final thoughts you’d like to share?

JEFF BRIDGES: You know, it’s wonderful when I make a movie. I go in with high expectations of what it’s going to be This is what keeps me coming back to make movies. Every once in a great while, those high expectations are exceeded. It’s even better than you thought it was going to be. It’s so incredible! And that’s because it’s not all about you and your performance and your ideas. You see, it’s all this collaboration! The sum of the parts is greater than the whole. When that happens, it’s so great. I count on the prop guy to know his shit and bring all his artistry. He is going to take me past myself! And I get to cash in on all those ideas. It makes my performance so much better to take advantage of all these other experts who are supporting me. And that’s kind of how I roll, man!

Check out the rest of the Spring 2025 Issue of Prop Culture here.