Bridges emerged as a boyishly charming lead in the 1970s, earning an Oscar® nomination for his engaging performance in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971). He is primarily known for his alienated, disaffected characterizations -- a struggling boxer in FAT CITY (1972), a middle-class drifter in CUTTER'S WAY (1981), and an earthbound alien in STARMAN (1984), for which Bridges received an Oscar nomination for best actor -- though he was highly convincing as an optimistic, indomitable, all-American entrepreneur in Francis Ford Coppola's TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAM (1988). Bridges gave a complex performance as Jack Baker, a celebrated piano player as a child, reduced to entertaining in hotel lounges with his brother (played by Beau) in THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS (1989). The film gave co-star Michelle Pfeiffer her second Oscar nomination, but some found Bridges even more impressive.
Bridges continued to give strong though sometimes underrated performances in the 90s, often changing his look to suit his characters. For TEXASVILLE (1990), the sequel to THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, he gained more than twenty pounds to reprise his role of Duane Jackson, thereby enhancing his portrayal of a man trying to recapture his lost youth. The understated angst of Bridges's DJ Jack Lucas in Terry Gilliam's THE FISHER KING (1991) provided an effective counterpoint to the exuberant Robin Williams. Once again altering his appearance for AMERICAN HEART (1993), Bridges grew his hair, donned a moustache, and sculpted his physique to play an ex-con trying to reconcile with his wayward son while living on the seamy side of Seattle. He then gave one of his most critically acclaimed performances in Peter Weir's FEARLESS (1993), playing the traumatized survivor of a plane crash whose outlook on life is radically changed by his near-death experience.
In 1994, Bridges broke from his traditional pursuit of offbeat roles to star in BLOWN AWAY, a mainstream, big-budget summer release in which Bridges played an explosives expert on the Boston police bomb squad who is challenged by a terrorist played by Tommy Lee Jones. Other roles in the late 1990s included Gregory Larkin in THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES (1996), The Dude in THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998), Michael Faraday in ARLINGTON ROAD (1999), Jack Warrick in THE MUSE (1999) and Lyle Carter in SIMPATICO (1999).
In 2000, his performance as the President of the United States brought him his fourth Oscar nomination for THE CONDENDER. He played Dr. Mark Powell who was just trying to figure out who Kevin Spacey really was in K-PAX (2001). Subsequent credits include MASKED AND ANONYMOUS and SEABISCUIT (both 2003), THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR (2004), THE MOGULS and TIDELAND (both 2005), STICK IT (2006), and IRON MAN, A DOG YEAR and HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE (all 2008).
Nominated for Supporting Actor 1971: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
Nominated for Supporting Actor 1974: THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT
Nominated for Actor 1984: STARMAN
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 2000: THE CONTENDER
4 nominations