Jeff Bridges — The Ass That Turned Pro, On Oprah

Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges (The Last Picture Show, The Big Lebowski, The Fabulous Baker Boys) is the subject of one of Oprah’s Master Classes. Bridges discusses his career, nepotism, and happiness — all three are connected. Bridges admits he wouldn’t have the career he does today without his father, Lloyd Bridges. Whenever there was a child’s role available on a project his father was working on, he would put his kids up for it. Bridges says his father taught him techniques and skills to hone his craft but what he learned most from his father was how to be happy. He witnessed the happiness his father brought to the set and how it affected everyone around him.

When director John Frankenheimer called Jeff Bridges and offered him the role of Don Parritt in his 1973 film Iceman Cometh with Lee Marvin, Bridges initially turned it down, saying “he was bushed.” When The Last American Hero director Lamont Johnson heard Bridges’ response to the offer, he called Bridges and said, “You’re bushed? You’re an ass.” On Oprah’s Master Class, Jeff Bridges says it was that phone call that “got him thinking about the idea of becoming a professional actor, because when you’re a professional, you’ve got to do what you don’t feel like doing.” Oprah’s Master Class with Jeff Bridges airs December 6 at 8pm on OWN.