Bridges finds firsts in 'IRON MAN'

After more than a half-century in show business, Jeff Bridges finally got to make a "student film."

Sure, "Iron Man," now in theaters, is really a mega-budget superhero flick that jump-started the summer for Hollywood. But Bridges didn't see it that way, not with all the seat-of-the-pants rewriting and improvisation on the set. He would show up for work and head straight for director Jon Favreau's trailer for a few hours.

"We would sit there and go to work, and we would write the scene," Bridges said.

The four-time Oscar nominee found it irritating at first. Then, he said, "Once I made the shift, I thought, 'Ooh, we're kind of making a student film.' I changed my mind-set and did better work."

Career started as a baby

It would be tough to show Bridges, 58, something new in a career that began when he was thrown into a scene as a 6-month-old by his father, Lloyd Bridges, the western and TV star.

But "Iron Man" did offer novelties.

The actor also shaved his head for the first time because Obadiah is a baldie in Marvel Comics. Bridges quickly discovered off-screen benefits.

"It was a wonderful feeling," he said. "My wife dug it, too, which is most important. I loved the feeling of taking a shower, putting your head on the pillow."

He learned from famous dad

He said his craft has "deepened," learning from his father's typecasting predicament after his "Sea Hunt" TV show in the '60s. All Lloyd Bridges received for a while were skin-diving scripts.

"You have to be careful what you do well and how many times you do it in a row," the son said.

"I am a product of nepotism," Bridges said.

The subject is on Bridges' mind these days because he has three daughters, all in their 20s, and all trying to find their way professionally. None so far has asked him to wield his show-business influence.

"When I had children, I chose not to be as gung-ho about the biz as my father was, even though I love it as much as he did," said Bridges, who met his wife of 31 years, Susan, on the set of "Rancho Deluxe" (1975).

"I thought I'd just let them navigate the waters of youth on their own and make their own discoveries," he said. "And now, I regret it in a way. Maybe I didn't make the right choice. It might have been a good thing to turn them on to acting at an early age. They all have talent in that area, too, which makes it more maddening for me."

By 21, Bridges was working full time as an actor, earning his first Oscar nod for 1971's "The Last Picture Show."

He is happy to be a homebody in Santa Barbara, Calif., 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, and still isn't sure "what's going to bring me to the party" when it comes to choosing roles.

Director lured him to new film

As for "Iron Man," it's not as if Bridges was dying to participate in a special-effects movie. Been there, done that. Remember the 1976 "King Kong" remake and 1982's "Tron"?

He said he picked "Iron Man" because of Favreau and Downey, and he came to admire Favreau's calm under pressure. Still, Bridges said, he wants no part of directing or big-time producing.

Bridges' complete getaway from movies is a home in Montana that was used in the filming of "Heaven's Gate." He's rebuilding it, he said, and his daughters have shown renewed interest in the place.

He's also plugging the DVD release of "The Amateurs," a little movie he and pal Ted Danson made in 2005 about small-towners making a porn film. Even fresh off a student film, Bridges is determined to keep moviegoers guessing.