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I Don't Know How It Is For Women Or For Other Guys, But When I Was Young And In My 20s, I Had A Fear Of Marriage.
-Jeff Bridges
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I Don't Know How

Jeff Bridges
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I Don't Know How It Is For Women Or For Other Guys, But When I Was Young And In My 20s, I Had A Fear Of Marriage.

Understanding the Quote: "i don't know how it is for women or for other guys,..."

This quote by Jeff Bridges reflects deeply on the theme of guy. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Guy, Young, Know How, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Jeff Bridges interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Jeff Bridges

Jeff Bridges is celebrated for insightful thoughts on guy and young. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Guy
Young
Know How
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Whenever You're The Child Of A Famous Person, You Get Judged In Odd Ways Because Of That.
Children
Way
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The More Nervous You Get, The More Worried You Get About Something... Maybe You Just Need To Take A Nap.
Naps
Needs
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Making Films Is Sort Of Like You're Pulling Off A Magic Trick. It's Sort Of Like An Illusion. It's Not Real But You Want It To Appear Real, And All Kinds Of Things Go Into That, From The Clothes You're Wearing To The Make-up, To The Light.
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As Far As 3-d Goes, I Don't Know If That Will Stay Very Long Because Things Are Moving So Rapidly.
Moving
Long
Knows
You Know, Ballet Might Be Too Formal Of A Title For The Type Of Dance I Do, But I Love To Dance.
Inspirational
Dance
Ballet
I Play Music As Much As I Can. I Have A Band Called The Abiders. We've Put Out A Couple Of Albums You Can Find On Itunes. We Tour And All That Stuff, So Music Is Very Much A Part Of My Life.
Couple
Play
Albums
I'm Very Manipulative Towards Directors. My Theory Is That Everyone On The Set Is Directing The Film, We're All Receiving Art Messages From The Universe On How We Should Do The Film.
Art
Receiving
Directors
I Do My Best To Hold The Director's Opinion Above My Own.
Directors
Opinion
My Own
There Are Some Actors That Want You To Call Them By Their Character's Name And They Have No Relationship With You Outside Of The Character. But I Like To Get To Know Who I'm Working With So That We Can Relax Together, And It's More Fun.
Fun
Character
Names
Every Couple Of Years We'll Watch The Movie And It's Like Watching Home Movies, Seeing The Ranch On-screen. But That Movie Heaven's Gate, People Are Appreciating It More And More As Time Goes On.
Couple
Home
Years
I Don't Think I Ever Went Down That Movie Star Path. I Always Enjoy Taking A 90-degree Turn From The Last Thing I Did.
Movie
Stars
Thinking
I've Had Really Great Experiences Working With First-time Directors. They Come At Filmmaking With Fresh Ideas. I've Been Very Lucky That Way.
Movie
Ideas
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You Can Change Things, You Can Make Things Better.
Destiny
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Once, During An Interview In Front Of My Wife, I Was Asked, "are You One Of Those Actors Who Brings Your Character Home? Do You Stay In Character?" I Said, "no, Not Really. I Don't Do That," And She Started Laughing. I Asked Her Why. She Said, "well, You Might Think You Don't Bring Characters Home, But You Do." So, While I Don't Feel Like A Character Is Lingering, It Probably Is.
Home
Character
Thinking
I've Done Movies In The Past That Have So Many Characters And I Find It's Very Hard To Follow All These Stories. You End Up Not Caring About Any Of The People And I Thought That Would Be The Case In This Film, And You Had These Big Speeches For Each Character, You Know, It's Like "god That's How You'll Have To Cut That Down In Order To Paste It All", To Edit The Movie And My Representatives Could Say "no, You Really You Ought To Check It Out.
Character
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It's Funny. You Succeed, But Now Where Are You Gonna Go From There? I've Got To Keep Proving That I Can Laugh Or Cry More Real Each Time.
Funny
Real
Laughing
You Prep, You Prep, You Prep. And On The Day That You Film, You Let All Of That Go. I Try To Achieve Emptiness As Much As Possible - The Zen Thing - To Let The Deal Come Out Of That Nothing.
Trying
Emptiness
Film
Taylor Sheridan I Think Wrote A Very Good Script. It Reeked Of Authenticity. He Seemed Like A Guy Who Knew What He Was Talking About And It Turned Out That Taylor's Uncle Is A Marshal, So He Knew Things From That Side.
Uncles
Thinking
Talking
What I Learned Most From My Father Wasn't Anything He Said; It Was Just The Way He Behaved. He Loved His Work So Much That, Whenever He Came On Set, He Brought That With Him, And Other People Rose To It.
Dad
Father
People
My Father Lloyd Bridges Was Very Versatile In His Parts, But He Had A Hit In The '60s 'sea Hunt,' Where He Played A Skin Diver. And He Was So Into That Role That People Actually Thought He Was A Skin-diver.
Father
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We Would Do Improvisation Together. And That In A Way, Had Almost A "student-film Side" Where We'd Be Sitting There With Robert Downey And Jon Favreau And We're Playing Around, We're Jamming Around And We Read Those Pages And In Next Couple Of Days That's What We Do, So It Was A Good Experience. Kind Of Frightening At First Because You Didn't Quite Know How It Was Going To Work Out, But They Had Some Very Talented People There So It Worked Out Well.
Couple
People
Work Out
Whenever I Work On A Part, I Look At The World Through The Filter Of The Character And I Pick Things They Might Use Through My Observations Of Real Life.
Real
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Might Use
I Love John Irving's Stuff. It's That Marriage Of Comedy And Tragedy. It's Really Terrific.
Tragedy
Stuff
Comedy
You Liked The Freshness Of It, C'mon Try It" And I Said "oh God, I Read It Three Of Four Times" And Finally I Said "all Right, I Want You Guys To Organize A Reading And I Want You To Be There To See How Terrible This Is Not Going To Work At All", So We Had A Table Like This, And Read The Script, And It Was Just Great.
Reading
Guy
Trying
Generally Speaking I Would Say I Enjoy The Smaller Films More Because There's A Less Sense Of Pressure And Often The Material Is More Unusual.
Pressure
Film
Unusual
"the Big Lebowski" Is A Real Masterpiece, As Far As I'm Concerned. I Suppose I'm A Bit Biased Because I'm In It.
Real
Bigs
Masterpiece
Memories Are Not Just About The Past. They Determine Our Future.
Memories
Past
Giver
That's One Of The Cool Things About Fame. You Have An Affect On Society And Where It Goes.
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Cool Things
I Went Through A Very Hairy Period. I Had A Movie Where I Was Going To Play Walt Whitman That Fell Through. At The Time, I Had Grown This Huge Beard And Very Long Hair. But Then, The Movie Got Canceled, I Had Some Other Parts, And I Currently Have Very Short Hair. So, When I Look In The Mirror, I Don't Know Who I Am Exactly. It's Interesting.
Mirrors
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With A Labyrinth, You Make A Choice To Go In - And Once You've Chosen, Around And Around You Go. But You Always Find Your Way To The Center.
Choices
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Way
I Loved Working With My Brother [beau] And My Father [lloyd] Whenever That Happened. I Had A Wonderful Experience Making "the Fabulous Baker Boys," Which I Felt Was A Great Movie, Too.
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Father
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I'm Used To Watching Old Movies Of Myself.
Movie
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Movies Are Very Subjective.
Movie
Actors
Subjective
I Remember When I Was A Kid, With The Acting Thing, I Resented It Because, You Know, You Don't Want To Do What Your Parents Want You To Do.
Kids
Parent
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Everyone I Meet Is In My Sangha. I Don't Know If That's The Proper Definition, But That's The Way I'm Going To Hold It In My Mind.
Mind
Definitions
Way
I Don't Really Think In Career Terms.
Thinking
Careers
Term
As Far As Beau Is Concerned, We're On The Same Team, We Root For Each Other. If My Parts Are Slightly More Attractive, Or Are Perceived That Way By Others, He's Very Content.
Teamwork
Roots
Way
He [michael Cimino] Wasn't The Typical Filmmaker. I Don't Know If He Had More In Him, He Certainly Had A Lot Of Scripts. I Know He Wrote A Hell Of A Lot.
Typical
Scripts
Hell
As Far As The Lack Of Hits Goes, I Think Perhaps It's Because I've Played A Lot Of Different Roles And Have Not Created A Persona That The Public Can Latch On To. I Have Played Everything From Psychopathic Killers To Romantic Leading Men, And In Picking Such Diverse Roles I Have Avoided Typecasting.
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If Some Crazy Idea Stays In My Head For Long Enough, Then There's No Fighting It. I Just Say, Okay, Let's Go.
Crazy
Fighting
Ideas
For Me And My Wife, It Was Love At First Sight.
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Firsts
I've Done Several Commercials And I've Done Voiceovers For Documentaries.
Done
Documentaries
Myths Are Wonderful Tools That We've Had, Oh, For Eons Now That Help Us Navigate The Situations We Find Ourselves In.
Tools
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Wonderful
There's Lots Of Good Movies Where You Feel That The Dialogue Could Be Improvised, But Very Little Was. The "big Lebowski" Was Like That Where People Say "oh, You Know, That Sounds So..." And We'd Always Go Back And Get Every Man, Every Ellipses In There The Way These Guys Write It. Because Not Only Is It Saying What Michael Wants The Character To Say But The Way They All Speak Kind Of Creates This Tone Because It's Not Exactly Real.
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I'm Not Real Good At Romance.
Real
Romance
Most Cynics Are Really Crushed Romantics: They've Been Hurt, They're Sensitive, And Their Cynicism Is A Shell That's Protecting This Tiny, Dear Part In Them That's Still Alive.
Romantic
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Shells
You Always Hear People Say That Having Kids Changes Everything, But You Can't Fully Realize It Until You Have Children Yourself.
Children
Kids
People
I Have My Prized Possession In My Wallet. That's A Photograph Of The First Words I Ever Uttered To My Wife, And Her Answer To My Question When I Asked Her, "will You Go Out With Me?"
Wife
Answers
Firsts
I Remember When I Was A Kid, With The Acting Thing, I Resented It Because, You Know, You Don't Want To Do What Your Parents Want You To Do. You Got Your Own Things. And The Whole Idea Of Getting A Job Because Of Who Your Father Is - That Didn't Feel Right. But After A While I Guess I Figured I Must Be Doing Something Right, Because People Wouldn't Keep Hiring Me If I Didn't Have Something To Give.
Father
Kids
People
When You Truly Commit In Your Life, You Start Receiving More Than You Could Imagine.
Motivation
Receiving
Imagine
Poverty Is A Very Complicated Issue, But Feeding A Child Isn't.
Children
Issues
Poverty
I'm One Of Those Guys Who Will Drink To, Uh, Kind Of Celebrate. I Don't Drink Too Much When I'm Down Or Anything Like That. But You've Really Got To Be, I Guess The Word That Came To Mind Is "creative," About The Way You're Celebrating. You Want To Keep The Celebration Going. I've Learned That Lesson Over And Over. Here On The Road There's A Lot Of Cause For Celebration, But You Just Gotta Get The Damper Out A Little Bit, And You Want To Keep That Governor On. You Want To Keep Your Give-a-shitter In Kick.
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Live Like You're Already Dead, Man. Have A Good Time. Do Your Best. Let It All Come Ripping Right Through You.
Life
Men
Good Times
I've Never Been Motivated By The Award Thing. There's A Certain Thing That This Fame Thing Does That Makes My Job Harder, In A Way. I'm Still Working With That. I Don't Think About It Too Much Until Somebody Asks Me A Question, And Then I Think About It.
Jobs
Thinking
Awards
Mania Is A Wonderful Feeling.
Feelings
Wonderful
Mania
I'm Pretty Critical Of Myself As Far As Reaching Some Sort Of Perfect Bull's-eye Or Target That I'm Aiming For.
Eye
Perfect
Target
I'd Maybe Done About 12 Movies When I Decided That This Was What I Was Going To Do.
Movie
Actors
Done
There's A Bit Of The Kid In Me.
Kids
Bits
I Haven't Been To Comic-con.
Comic
Comic Con
Havens
When I'm Working, I'm Very Purposeful And Everything Else Gets Out Of Focus. Something I've Had To Work On Together With My Wife Is How To Acknowledge Each Other In The Midst Of This And Keep The Relationship Going.
Wife
Focus
Together
I Love Westerns, I'd Love To Make More Of Them.
You Know, It's Kind Of A Shame In A Way But The More Seasoned Directors A Lot Of Times Have More Difficult Getting A Job Than First Time Guys. New Kid On The Block Kind Of Thing.
Jobs
Block
Kids
Basically, One Of The Hardest Things About Being An Actor Is Getting Your First Break. I'm A Product Of Nepotism. The Doors Were Open To Me. I'd Done Several Movies Before I Decided What I Wanted To Do.
Doors
Actors
Done
My Website's Kind Of Fun For Me. I Get To Do Drawings On That. It's Kind Of Fun.
Fun
Drawing
Kind
When I Was Really Young, My Mom Enrolled Me In Dance Classes.
Dance
Mom
Class
You Don't Want To Vilify Your Ego.
Ego
Want
Vilify
It Was Fortunate For All Of Us To Have Joaquin Jackson, Who Is A Very Renowned Texas Ranger, On Board. He Spent Quite A Few Days With Us On Set And He Added A Lot To It For Me On What It's Like To Be A Texas Ranger.
Texas
Boards
Rangers
You Kind Of Notice What's Going On In Your Body, And You Can Kind Of Feel A Certain Tightening, Or Fear, Which Is Something That, As An Artist, I've Kind Of Befriended. I Can Pretty Much Count On It For Anything That I Engage In - That Thing Like, "am I Going To Be Able To Pull This Off?" Well, What Am I Gonna Do With This Feeling? The More Nervous You Get, The More Worried You Get About It. So You Pay Attention To What You Might Need.
Artist
Feelings
Attention
I Was Loving Music, And Loving Art, Painting, So I Was Considering Those Things, But I Must Say I Dug Acting As Well.
Art
Acting
Painting
Life's Picking Up Speed.
Speed
A Fool And His Money Are Quickly Parted.
Wise
Wisdom
Fool
Technology Is Such A Broad Kind Of Term, It Really Applies To So Many Things, From The Electric Light To Running Cars On Oil. All Of These Different Things Can Be Called Technology. I Have Kind Of A Love-hate Relationship With It, As I Expect Most People Do. With The Computer, I Spend So Many Hours Sitting In Front Of A Computer.
Running
Hate
Technology
One Of The Tough Things About Being An Actor, Probably The Hardest Thing, Is Getting Your Foot In The Door, And My Father Handled That For Me At A Very Early Age.
Father
Doors
Feet
I Gotta Take Notes When Things Occur To Me.
Notes
I'm Not Locked Into Playing One Guy.
Guy
Locked
In Life And In Movies, It's A Similar Challenge, Where You Have Expectations, And You End Up In Situations That Are Not Meeting Your Expectations.
Movie
Expectations
Challenges
It's Not Enough Just To Treat Women Well. We Have To Work To Make Sure All Men Treat Women Well.
Powerful
Men
Violence
Nowadays, In The Contract That Actors Sign, You Have To Agree That You're Going To Do A Certain Amount Of Publicity-the Hard Part They Don't Pay You For.
Actors
Pay
Publicity
Like Most Of The Movies I Get Involved With, I Resisted As Long As Possible, I Really Try To Figure Out Why I Shouldn't Do It And This One Had Plenty Of Reasons "not To Do It".
Long
Trying
Reason
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.
Team
Player
Ideas
One Of The Things That I Find So Exciting About Life Is That You're Constantly Surprised. You Never Know What's Going To Happen, And It's Certainly Like That Making Movies; Every Once In A While, One Will Come Along That Transcends All Of Your Expectations.
Expectations
Life Is
Exciting
I Don't Have Too Many Plans Filled Out. I Know I Want To Keep Doing More Music. I've Got A Couple Of Albums Worth Of Songs I'd Like To Put It Out There. As Far As Movies, I Just Want To Continue How I've Been Doing It: Working With Terrific People Is Certainly On My Agenda, And Then Doing Stories That Interest Me.
Song
Couple
Filled Out
I Don't Really Care About Having More Fame Than I Have.
Care
Fame
It Can Kind Of Screw Up Things If You're Trying To Overwork Something.
Trying
Screw Ups
Kind
I Remember In One Of My Early Films I Had A Drunk Scene. It Was Kiss Me Goodbye, With Sally Field, And I Was Playing This Kind Of Nerdy Guy Who Gets Drunk And Dances. And So I Thought, "oh Well, I'll Just Get Drunk And Do The Dance." And It Was Wonderful, But Then I Had The Rest Of The Day, And The Next Day. So I Learned That You Don't Really Have To Do The Things That Your Character Is Doing. But Us Actors, We Use Something Called Sense Memory. I've Certainly Been Drunk Before, And Part Of My Job Is To Recall That Without Getting Drunk.
Goodbye
Memories
Character
Any Role That Big Is Going To Be A Challenge For Any Actor, But For An Actor Of A Young Age, It's Going To Be Even Tougher.
Challenges
Age
Roles
I Like To Know Where The Camera Is.
Cameras
Knows
So I Have This Word For Much Of What I Do In Life: 'plorking.' I'm Not Playing And I'm Not Working, I'm Plorking.
My Mother And My Father Were Very Nurturing And Wonderful Examples Of How To Live Your Life.
Mother
Father
Live Your Life
The Oscar Nomination Is Great. It's A Great Pat On The Back. And I Like That.
Oscars
Nominations
If You're Married You'll Have Tough Times.
Tough Times
Tough
Married
I Just Find My Creativity Manifesting A Bunch Of Different Ways.
Creativity
Different
Way
During My Early Years, I Thought I Might Be A Musician. Like Most Kids, I Didn't Do What My Parents Wanted Me To Do. They Were Gung-ho That All Their Kids Become Actors. They Loved Showbiz So Much. I Am A Product Of Nepotism, Basically.
Kids
Years
Parent
I Hadn't Talked To Him In Many, Many Years. He Got A Bad Rap On "heaven's Gate." I Actually Live In The Hog Ranch From "heaven's Gate" In Montana. Mike Cimino Gave Me That Set, The Whorehouse, That's My House.
Rap
Years
House
You Just Have To Work With Your Discomfort. ... It’s Challenging, But You Have To Dance The Dance That The Band’s Playing. You Can’t Say: “i Came Here To Cha Cha And They’re Playing A Waltz, Godammit!”
Challenges
Band
Discomfort
I Found That Photography Was A Great Way Of Relaxing On The Set.
Photography
Way
Found
I Remember Being On A Black-and-white Set All Day And Then Going Out Into Daylight And Being Amazed By The Colour.
Black And White
Going Out
Daylight
Public Charities, Foodbanks And Church Pantries Are Doing More Than Ever Before, But They Can't Keep Up With The Need. We Can Never End Hunger Only Through The Wonderful Work Of Local Charities. Like Other Western Democracies, We Must End Our National Problem Of Hunger Through National And Political Leadership. Charity Is Nice For Some Things, But Not As A Way To Feed A Nation. We Don't Protect Our National Security Through Charity, And We Shouldn't Protect Our Families And Children That Way Either.
Children
Nice
Inspiration
I First Got Involved With Ending World Hunger, And I Got Hip To The Facts About It - What A Huge Problem It Was And How It Wasn't A Matter Of Not Having Food Or Not Knowing How To End It, But It Was A Matter Of Creating The Political Will.
Knowing
Political Will
Creating
I Just Hope That Theaters Remain. I Think There's Something Very Wonderful About Getting Into A Dark Room With A Bunch Of People. There's Something Cool About That. Brings Us All Together In One Room Where We Can Experience All Those Emotions.
Dark
Thinking
People
I Have Hesitation Making Any Kind Of Decision, Really In My Life. I'm Really Slow At It.
Decision
Kind
Hesitation
One In Four Kids In The U.s. Faces Hunger.
Kids
Four
Faces
One Of The Things I Want To Do That's Outside The Realm Of Acting And The Arts - Although Both Have Their Place In This - Is Ending Childhood Hunger Here In America.
Art
America
Childhood
If You're Like Me, I Get Hooked Into To-do Lists, You Know. I'll Say I Checked That Off. Okay, I Did That. And You Have All These Things You're Doing.
Lists
Okay
Like Me
When You're A Professional You Gotta Do It [your Job] When You Don't Feel Like Doing It.
Jobs
Feels
Normally, After A Movie, You Know, You Don't Want To Get Up And Do Another One Right Away. That Kind Of Pretend Muscle Or Whatever You Use Making Movies Is Kind Of, You Know, Spent. And You Have Other Things To Do.
Use
Want
Kind
I've Worked With A Lot Of Kids, And When You're Working With Kids They Have Certain Hours That They Have To Work.
Kids
Hours
Certain
All Of This High-tech Stuff Is Supposed To Set Us Free And Make Life Easier. To Me, It Makes It More Difficult And Demanding.
Stuff
Easier
Difficult
I Kept Dreaming Of A World I Thought I'd Never See, And Then....one Day....i Got In!
Dream
One Day
World
Generally Speaking I Would Say I Enjoy The Smaller Films More Because There's A Less Sense Of Pressure And Often The Material Is More Unusual. But In "iron Man" It Was Kind Of Like Both Worlds Colliding Because There Was A Lot Of Improvisation, Not That We Improv-ed In The Scenes But To Discover The Actual Scenes Themselves.
Men
Iron
Pressure
Well, There Are All Kinds Of Gutters. Life Will Supply You With Gutters.
Gutters
Kind
All Kinds
Sometimes I Think Of Movie Acting As Advanced Pretend.
Movie
Thinking
Acting
Well, Thanksgiving We'll All Gather At My House For Dinner And We Usually Do Christmas At Beau's House. My Mom Is Still Feisty And Kicking. She's 92. I Saw Her Last Night And She Published A Book At 90. It's A Wonderful Book Called "you Caught Me Kissing" And It's Basically Love-poems That She Wrote For My Dad. It's More Than That, It's A Wonderful Book.
Mom
Dad
Book
Often When I Finish A Film I'll Have That Feeling Inside Me: 'i Never Want To Do This Ever Again. I Don't Want To Pretend Anymore. I Want To Be Myself And Do That.' And Then, Thank God, That Feeling Goes Away After A Month Or So And I'm Raring To Go Again.
Feelings
Thank God
Want
It's A Wonderful Metaphor, Catching A Wave, For How You Can Look At Other Challenges In Your Life.
Challenges
Looks
Wonderful
Sure, I Get The Blues. But What I Try To Do, Is Apply Joy To The Blues, You Know? I Don't Know If It's A Technique, Or Just Being Bent That Way, Being Raised By The Folks I Was Raised By.
Joy
Trying
Technique
Unlike A Lot Of Actors, My Father Encouraged All His Kids To Go Into Show Business.
Father
Kids
Actors
I Wish I Were More Disciplined.
Wish
Work Takes Me Away From My Wife, Sue, And My Life In Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara
Wife
Take Me Away
I've Done Quite A Few Movies, I Generally Can Feel That I'm Not Right For The Role Or A General Fear If I Can Pull It Off, And Him Giving That "tag" So To Speak Gave Me The Confidence. Like That Miles Davis Line, "don't Worry About Mistakes, There Aren't Any." Once You Are The Part, You're The Guy, So You Can't Not Be The Guy Because You're It.
Mistake
Giving
Worry
Yeah I Loved, As A Kid Growing Up, I Loved Science-fiction.
Growing Up
Kids
Fiction
We Love Things That Are Convenient.
Convenient
When You Start To Engage With Your Creative Processes, It Shakes Up All Your Impulses, And They All Kind Of Inform One Another.
Creative
Kind
Process
Sticking With A Marriage. That's True Grit, Man.
Men
Grit
True Grit
Well, When We Made 'tron' There Was No Internet, No Cellphones.
Internet
Made
Wells
I Think We're All Hooked, I Feel My Own Hook-ness On Immediate Gratification You Know. I Want What I Want.
Thinking
Hook
Want
I Love Seeing Somebody Act Real Earnest And Serious, Like Jackie Gleason. He Makes Me Laugh Because He Reflects Back To Me My Own Serious-mindedness And How Ridiculous It All Is. It's Always Easier To See Somebody Else In That Position Than Yourself, And You Laugh. It's Like The Classic Slipping On The Banana Peel, Or Someone Getting Hit By A Pie In The Face. Why Do Those Things Make Us Laugh? Is It From Relief, Like: Thank God It Wasn't Me? Or Is It Something Else: I'm Being Very Serious Now. I'm Pontificating Earnestly And Solemnly About-pow! Pie In The Face! The Bust-up Of Certainty.
Real
Pie
Laughing
I'm Also Working Closely With A Group Called The Amazon Conservation Team, Helping With The Rainforest In South America.
Team
America
Groups
Making A Film, It Uses A Certain... 'pretend-muscle,' I Don't Know What You Want To Call It. It Exhausts Something In Me, I Find. It Has To Be Really Something To Get Me Interested.
Use
Want
Film
Like Most Kids, You Don't Want To Do What Your Folks Want You To Do. You've Got Your Own Thing.
Kids
Want
Folks
I Can See How A Relationship With A Writer Would Be An Easy Thing.
Would Be
Easy
Easy Things
People Fall In Love For Mysterious Reasons.
Falling In Love
People
Mysterious
I'm A Pretty Basic Surfer.
Surfer
I'm A Chairperson For 'no Kid Hungry', A Campaign For Poor American Children.
Children
Kids
Campaigns
Play Doesn't Have To Be A Frivolous Thing. You May Think Of A Beethoven Symphony As Something Serious, But It's Still Being Played. I Think Oscar Wilde Said That Life Is Too Important To Be Taken Seriously.
Taken
Thinking
Play
When I Was Really Young, My Mom Enrolled Me In Dance Classes. "mom, I'm Too Young To Dance," I Told Her. She Kind Of Forced Me, But I Ended Up Loving It, And After The first Lesson I Came Back And Said, "come On, Mom, I'll Show You The Box Step." That Introduced Me Not Just To Dancing But Also To Working With Someone Without Having A Goal.
Mom
Class
Dancing
Kevin Bacon And I Recently Worked On A Move Together, R.i.p.d. Just Before We'd Begin A Scene, When All Of Us Would Feel The Normal Anxiety That Actors Feel Be- Fore They Start To Perform, Kevin Would Look At Me And The Other Actors With A Very Serious Expression On His Face And Say: "remember, Everything Depends On This!" It Would Make Us All Laugh. On The One Hand, It's Not True Of Course, But On The Other, Everything Does Depend On This, On Just This Moment And Our Attitude Toward This Moment.
Attitude
Moving
Remembers Everything
You Have That Frank Capra Kind Of Side To It And The Characters Are Really Well Drawn, So I Think Everybody Tried Their Best To Stay Faithful To The Script.
Character
Thinking
Faithful
I Look Back At My Filmography, And I'm Pretty Jazzed With The Stuff I've Been Part Of. They're All Movies I'd Like To See.
Looks
Stuff
My Brother's My Teacher, My Mentor, And We Both Learnt All The Acting Basics From Our Father.
Teacher
Brother
Father
This Is Many, Many Years Ago. It Was Shortly After "starman" I Think. I Don't Know How Close I Was To Getting The Part. I Met With [director] Penny Marshall And That's One That I Knew Would Be A Hit. It Just Felt Hit-ish. But It's Like You Go To A Store And You See A Jacket And You Go "i Love That Jacket" And You Try It On And It's Too Big Or Too Small For You And It's The Only One They Have. For Some Reason That Part Just Didn't Fit Me.
Thinking
Years
Trying
A Large Part Of Acting Is Just Pretending. You Get To Work With These Other Great Make-believers, All Making Believe As Hard As They Can.
Inspirational
Motivational
Believe
One Of My Favorite Artists Is Tom Waits, Whom Most People Think Of As A Wonderful Singer-songwriter And A Great Poet. I Certainly Think Of Him That Way, But I Also Know Him As A Terrific Actor. You Know, That Persona That He Puts On When He's Doing His Music Comes From Being An Actor, Figuring Out A Persona.
Thinking
Artist
People
Sometimes You Feel You're Making Something Really Special And When It Comes Out You Might Still Feel That Way But For Some Reason It Doesn't Get The Audience. So Many Things Have To Come Together To Get A Creatively Successful And Financially Successful Film.
Successful
Special
Together
My Main Teachers Were My Father And My Mother And My Brother.
Inspirational
Mother
Teacher
As You Become Famous You Lose Some Of Your Anonymity, Which Is Wonderful For An Actor To Have Because You Can Observe People And Also People Don't Have Such A Strong Sense Of Who You Are And That Sort Of Thing.
Strong
People
Actors
I'm Not Counting Any Chickens.
Chickens
Counting
Working With My Dad Was Such A Gas. We Approached The Work In A Similar Way. We Only Made Two Films Together When I Was An Adult, Tucker, And Blown Away, But It Was So Much Fun To Play With Your Parent Like That.
Fun
Dad
Father
Thoughts Will Change And Shift Just Like The Wind And The Water When You're On The Boat; Thoughts Are No Different Than Anything Else.
Wind
Water
Different
Yeah, I'd Been Around Horses Most Of My Life.
Horse
Yeah
One Of The Greatest Feelings In The World Is Knowing That We As Individuals Can Make A Difference. Ending Hunger In America Is A Goal That Is Literally Within Our Grasp.
Differences
Knowing
America
Always Maintain A Joyful Mind. Appreciate The Struggles As Opportunities To Wake Up.
Struggle
Opportunity
Appreciate
You've Got To Take Care Of Yourself On The Path, Not Just When You Cross The Goal Line, Because Don't Forget, Wherever You Are, That's The Goal Line.
Goal
Care
Lines
Fame Really Works Against Actors, In A Way, Because Our Anonymity Is A Wonderful Thing For Us.
Actors
Way
Wonderful
She Was This Incredible Mom. With Each Of Her Kids, She Did Something Called `time,' Where She Would Spend An Hour Each Day Doing Whatever The Kid Wanted To Do, Whether It Was Play Spacemen Or `let's Go Into Your Makeup, And I'll Make You Up Like A Clown.' And As A Teenager You'd Be Like, `rub Me, Mom. Give Me A Massage.'
Mom
Mother
Teenager
I Confessed To Mike [cimino] A Couple Of Days Before We Shot. I Was Like, "what Am I Doing Here, Mike?" And Mike Just Looked At Me, In That Very Directorial Manor, Took A Long Pause, And He Said, "you Know The Game Tag?" And I Said, "yeah." And He Said, "well, You're It." That Was Some Of The Best Direction I Think I've Ever Received.
Couple
Thinking
Games
I Hate It When There's A Good Movie, Someone Overhypes It And I'm Disappointed That I Don't Like It More.
Movie
Hate
Actors
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.
Thinking
Years
Red
I Never Read Reviews Of Something I Want To See.
Want
Reviews
My Mom Wasn't A Movie Star.
Mom
Mother
Stars
I Like To Think Of Myself As A Character Actor, Though There's Some Redundancy In That...
Character
Thinking
Actors
Obviously It's Fun To Let Yourself Go And Eat A Pint Of Haagen Dazs, But Being Healthy Feels The Best. Sobriety And Health Is The Greatest Thing.
Fun
Sobriety
Healthy
You Don't Want To Do What Your Parents Want You To Do. You Got Your Own Things. And The Whole Idea Of Getting A Job Because Of Who Your Father Is - That Didn't Isn't Right.
Jobs
Father
Ideas
Seeing David Mackenzie's Work In "starred Up," I Thought That Was A Wonderful Film.
Wonderful
Film
Seeing
As A Kid, You Want To Be Liked For Who You Are. You Don't Want To Be Liked For Who Your Parents Are. You Don't Want To Get A Job Because Of Who Your Parents Are. You Want To Do It On Your Own, With Your Own Gifts And Your Own Value. So, I Decided To Spare My Kids That And Not Be As Pro-active As My Dad Was.
Jobs
Dad
Kids
I'm Very Much Into The Costuming Of Any Character That I Portray And It's One Of The Great Things About Making Movies Is It's A Collaborative Art Form So You Get All These Artists Who Are Looking Specifically About For This Instance Your Character's Costume And What That Might Tell About Your Character.
Movie
Art
Character
This Idea Of How Everything Is Interconnected, And The Impermanence Of Things.. It Sums Up The Human Condition To Me, And It Helps Me On My Path.
Ideas
Path
Helping
Sometimes You'll Have A Movie That You're Very Proud Of And You Think It Transcended All Of Your Expectations But It Doesn't Come Out At The Right Time. I Have Done Movies That Have Never Been Released. That Can Be Depressing.
Depressing
Thinking
Expectations
I Don't Have Too Much Time To Jam With The Rest Of Hollywood.
Hollywood
Jam
Too Much
I'd Done About 10 Movies Before I Decided I Wanted To Make Acting The Main Thrust Of My Career.
Careers
Acting
Done
35 Million People In The U.s. Are Hungry Or Don't Know Where Their Next Meal Is Coming From, And 13 Million Of Them Are Children. If Another Country Were Doing This To Our Children, We'd Be At War.
Country
Children
War
One Thing I Want To Do Is Create Something Called Ring Around Congress. It Would Be A State Deal And Also A National Thing, Where The Kids, As A Field Trip, Will Go And Join Hands Around Congress And Give The Politicians Report Cards On How They're Voting On Hunger Issues.
Kids
Issues
Hands
You Know, I Thought We Could Use A Good Myth About Technology To Help Guide Us Through These Particular Modern Waters Right Now.
Technology
Water
Use
My M.o. As Far As Choosing Projects Is I Really Try Not To Work. I Try To Not Do The Scripts That Are Offered Me.
Trying
Scripts
Projects
I Used To Read Comics When I Was A Kid.
Kids
Used
For Me, Growing Up, The Downside Of It Was That As A Kid You Don't Want To Stand Out. You Don't Want To Have A Famous Father Let Alone Get A Job Because Of Your Famous Father, You Know? But I'm A Product Of Nepotism. That's How I Got My Foot In The Door, Through My Dad.
Jobs
Growing Up
Dad
I've Gone Out Of My Way To Not Take Baggage With Me From Film To Film.
Gone
Baggage
Way
Nowadays It Seems More And More Like The 'business' In 'show Business' Is Underlined, And There Are Campaigns, And It's All Part Of Getting People In To See The Movies.
Movie
People
Campaigns
Do I Have A Long-term Plan? Kind Of. I Have A General Direction, I Think. But It's Funny What Comes Down The Pike.
Funny
Thinking
Long
If You Change Partners Every Time It Gets Tough Or You Get A Little Dissatisfied, Then I Don't Think You Get The Richness That's Available In A Long-term Relationship.
Thinking
Long
Littles
I'm At This Time In Life When I Have To Take The Opportunities I Have Left.
Opportunity
Left
I Have A Cycle That Is Not Particularly Cool, But It's A Cycle: Trash Myself To Reward Myself.
Rewards
Trash
Cycles
One Of The Tough Things About Being An Actor, Probably The Hardest Thing, Is Getting Your Foot In The Door, And My Father Handled That For Me At A Very Early Age. It's Funny, I Get An Image Of The Thing With Eggs And Chickens Where, When The Egg Is Getting Ready To Hatch, The Little Chicken Will Start To Peck At The Shell A Little Bit, And The Mom Will Hear That And Start To Peck At The Shell From The Outside, And They're Both Kind Of Working Together.
Mom
Father
Working Together
Normally, I Love To Go To The Movies And When I See A Character Portrayed By Different Actors At Different Ages, It Kind Of Pops A Little Bit For Me. It Brings Me Out Of The Movie Experience. Now We Have The Technology To Cure That.
Movie
Character
Technology
To Go Into Therapy Is An Adventure, Not Really To Iron Anything Out.
Adventure
Iron
Therapy
I Think It Would Really Be More Like 10 Films Before I Locked In And Said, "yeah, I'm Really Gonna Do This Thing."
Thinking
Film
A Fella Who Accepts Himself And Is Relaxed Into Who He Is - That Appeals To People.
People
Accepting
Appeals
As Filmmakers, We're Constantly Always Looking For Something To Bring The Audience Deeper Into The Reality Of The Story We're Telling.
Reality
Stories
Filmmaker
There's Kind Of A Zen Aspect To Bowling. The Pins Are Either Staying Up Or Down Before You Even Throw Your Arm Back. It's Kind Of A Mind-set. You Want To Be In This Perfect Mind-set Before You Released The Ball.
Perfect
Mind
Want
Sobriety And Health Is The Greatest Thing.
Sobriety
I Find I'm Most Challenged By Things I Really Care About, Because I Really Want To Do Them Well. It Causes Quite A Bit Of Anxiety. But That Very Thing You're Afraid Of Is Kind Of Like A Blessing In Disguise. If You Didn't Have That Fear, You Wouldn't Have The Other Side - Courage And Bravery, Positive Emotions.as An Actor, You Get Used To Those Fears, And You're Almost Happy When They Show Up. It Makes You Learn Your Lines And Prepare.
Blessing
Bravery
Anxiety
You Don't Really Have To Do The Things That Your Character Is Doing. But Us Actors, We Use Something Called Sense Memory. I've Certainly Been Drunk Before, And Part Of My Job Is To Recall That Without Getting Drunk.
Jobs
Memories
Character
I Had A Great '70s. I Survived It, And That's Always Good News.
News
Good News
Survived
Tightness Gets In The Way Of Everything, Except Tightness.
Way
I Did [michael Cimino] First Movie, "thunderbolt And Lightfoot," And I Remember I Was Still In My Twenties And Very Nervous, We're Shooting Up In Montana, And I'm Thinking, "what The Hell Am I Doing Here? I Don't Feel Anything Like This Part.
Thinking
Twenties
Shooting Up
I Don't Really Consider Myself One Of Those Actors Who Takes His Work Home With Him.
Home
Actors
I Kind Of Quit Surfing When I Got Out Of High School, But Then A Few Years Ago I Started To Take It Up Again. I'm Not An Expert By Any Means, But It's So Wonderful To Get Out In The Ocean And Get A Different Perspective On Things.
Ocean
School
Mean
Eating Ice Cream And Not Exercising Is Great. The Downside Is Your Health Isn't So Good.
Exercise
Ice Cream
Eating
I Had Success As An Actor Relatively Early. When I Was 22, I Got Nominated For An Academy Award For The Last Picture Show, So That Road, You Know, Had The Least Resistance. I Was Doing My Music All That Time, But It's Pretty Hard To Turn Down These Great Movie Offers. And My Father Counseled Me; He Said, "you Know, One Of The Wonderful Things About Acting Is That You Can Incorporate All Of Your Interests Into The Different Parts You Play." I'm Glad I Listened To The Old Man, Because That's The Way It Turned Out.
Father
Men
Acting
I Used To Be Somebody. Now I’m Somebody Else.
Used
Used To Be
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