The dedicated zen wizard who makes effortlessness look easy JEFF BRIDGES

In our regular series, we pay tribute to the towering, mega-watt stars who still roam Hollywood

WORDS IAN NATHAN

ILLUSTRATION CHRISTOPHER LEE LYONS

THE LEBOWSKI FEST of 2005 was in full swing. Quite frankly, those lucky enough to be crammed into the Knitting Factory Club on Hollywood Boulevard, worshippers at the altar of screwball noir The Big Lebowski, were nearing a state of delirium when the headline act was finally introduced. It had been announced that he was coming, but still no-one could quite believe it. But here it was, the miracle: “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, JEFF BRIDGES!!”

As the laconic actor strolled into his very first Lebowski Fest, those trademark locks cascading to his shoulders, jellies clamped to his feet, a smile as familiar as sunlight, his backing band, The Abiders (natch), strumming the opening bars to Bob Dylan’s ‘The Man In Me’, the effect leaned more towards Charlie Kaufman than Coen brother.

“It was my Beatles moment,” marvelled Bridges to Matthew McConaughey during a Variety event in 2016, recalling a sea of Dudes in front of him. Grown men wept into their White Russians, dabbing runny noses on towelling sleeves. As he surveyed the sweaty crowd, he registered Walters, Donnys, Maudes, nihilists, bowling pins, and, if his eyes did not deceive him, one enterprising soul had come as Jackie Treehorn’s obscene doodle.

Let’s put a pin in the historical record right here. This is the nonpareil moment of Bridges’ elevation to most beloved star in Hollywood. If Jesus had strolled onto that stage, the decibel level would have scored a distant second. And there were a fair few Jesuses among the crowd too, dressed in embroidered purple jumpsuits and hair nets. Later, backstage, Bridges looked happy but bewildered. “I just think it’s a weird dream I’m having, man,” he gasped to a fan — the moment caught on phone and preserved on YouTube. He could have been talking about his whole career.

Here’s what is obvious. In later life, Bridges abides. He is a genuine icon, a national treasure, an actor who has risen above the fray. He is the Zen superstar. Only Meryl Streep is on the same level, beyond reproach.

THE BOX OFFICE

Jeff Bridges’ top five money-makers

IRON MAN

$585 million

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE $411 million TRON: LEGACY

$400 million

TRUE GRIT

$252 million

SURF’S UP

$152 million

* Global box office, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com

As thief Jake Rumsey in 1972 Western Bad Company

Rocking the fluoro bluef" in the iconic Tron (1982)

Is he at peace with the fact that The Dude may well be his epitaph, the talk-show hosts always ask? ”Of course,” he beamed to Conan O’Brien in 2016, stroking the lustrous, white beard as vital to the overall effect as on Santa Claus. “It’s a masterpiece, man.” He knows that everywhere he goes, he takes The Dude with him. Actor and signature role have become almost indivisible. They share the same first name, the same amiable nature, the same need to please.