Before Jeff Bridges became a genuine movie star, he was just another average Joe trying to make it as a musician. During his illustrious acting career, Bridges has released several albums and most recently released an archival album from the 70s titled Slow Magic: 1977-1978. With all that in mind, Jeff Bridges has a deep affinity for music. Particularly, Bridges seemingly holds a special place in his heart for country and folk music. Hence, one of the biggest honors of his acting career is when he got to jam out with the king of modern folk music, Bob Dylan.
In 2003, Bridges was already well into his acting career and made a name for himself thanks to his standout roles in The Fisher King and The Big Lebowski. However, in that same year, Bridges attached himself to a fairly unexpected project. That project was written by Bob Dylan and called Masked And Anonymous. It was on this film that Jeff Bridges got to jam out with Bob Dylan, and even though it happened quite some time ago, he still views the experience with a very special light.
Jeff Bridges Recalls Playing Music With Bob Dylan in His Trailer
Around 11 years after the release of the film, Jeff Bridges sat down with Howard Stern on The Howard Stern Show and recalled the epicness of his time with Bob Dylan. He told Stern it was “one of the high points of my life, man.”
“‘Hi Jeff, you want to jam, man?’” Bridges quoted Dylan. “I was just in another zone.”
Even though Bridges and Dylan had a friendship, the jam session came as a result of the director, Larry Charles. Charles wanted Dylan to play music and do improv exercises with Bridges so he could get a better grasp on acting, given that Dylan was not a seasoned actor. Consequently, Bridges and Dylan played together, and Bridges stated that “[Dylan] loved it and he was very good and he was just incredible.”
“I might have had a bowel movement, I got to check, I had to check for sure,” Bridges hilariously recalled.
Bridges and Dylan’s off-screen friendship amounted to a great movie. It didn’t win any major awards or score any decorated nominations, but to this day, it remains one of the great satirical films of the 21st century. Also, Dylan’s tracks on the film’s soundtrack are quite superb.
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