Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to television. He is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and the elder brother of fellow actor Jeff Bridges.
Early life Bridges was born on December 9, 1941 in Los Angeles, California, the son of actors Lloyd Bridges (1913–1998) and Dorothy Bridges (née Simpson; 1915–2009). He was nicknamed Beau by his parents after Ashley Wilkes' son in Gone with the Wind. His younger brother is actor Jeff Bridges, and he has a younger sister, Lucinda. Another brother, Garrett, died in 1948 of sudden infant death syndrome. Beau has shared a close relationship with Jeff, for whom he acted as a surrogate father during childhood when their father was busy with work. He and his siblings were raised in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles.
Wanting to become a basketball star, he played in his freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under legendary coach John Wooden, where he joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He later transferred to the University of Houston, playing under Coach Guy V. Lewis. In 1959, he enlisted in the United States Coast Guard Reserve and served for eight years.
Career In 1948, Bridges had an uncredited juvenile role in Force of Evil, and a role as Bertram in No Minor Vices. In 1949, he played a third juvenile role in the film The Red Pony. In the 1962–1963 television season, Bridges, along with his younger brother, Jeff, appeared on their father's CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show. He appeared in other television series too, including: National Velvet, The Fugitive, Combat, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Mr. Novak and The Loner. In 1965, he guest-starred as Corporal Corbett in "Then Came the Mighty Hunter", Season 2, Episode 3 of the military series, Twelve O'Clock High. He found steady work in television and film throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared in such feature films during that time as The Landlord (1970), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975), Greased Lightning (1977), Norma Rae (1979), The Fifth Musketeer (1979), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and The Hotel New Hampshire (1984).
In 1989, in perhaps his best-known role, he starred opposite his brother Jeff as one of The Fabulous Baker Boys. In the 1993–94 television season, Bridges appeared with his father in the 15-episode CBS comedy/western series, Harts of the West, set at a dude ranch in Nevada. In 1995, Bridges starred with his father and his son Dylan in "The Sandkings", the two-part pilot episode of the Showtime science fiction series The Outer Limits. In 1998, he starred as Judge Bob Gibbs in the one-season Maximum Bob on ABC. He had a recurring role in the Showtime series Beggars and Choosers (1999–2000).
In 2001, he guest-starred as Daniel McFarland, the stepfather of Jack McFarland, in two episodes of the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. He played a single father and college professor in the fantasy adventure film Voyage of the Unicorn, based on the novel by James C. Christensen.
From 2002 to 2003, he took on the role of Senator Tom Gage, newly appointed Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in over 30 episodes of the drama series The Agency. In January 2005, he was cast as Major General Hank Landry, the new commander of Stargate Command in Stargate SG-1. He also played the character in five episodes of the spin-off series Stargate Atlantis as well as the two direct-to-DVD films Stargate: The Ark of Truth and Stargate: Continuum.
In November 2005, he guest-starred as Carl Hickey, the father of the title character in the hit NBC comedy My Name Is Earl. Bridges' character became recurring. Bridges received a 2007 Emmy Award nomination for his performance.
In 2008, Bridges co-starred in the motion picture Max Payne, based on the video game character. The film also starred Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis. Bridges portrayed "BB" Hensley, an ex-cop who aids Wahlberg on his quest to bring down a serial killer. The film received mixed reviews, but Bridges' participation was noted for being a positive one. It was not the first motion picture with Bridges regarding the video game world; The Wizard had him in a role as a landscaping company owner who was later found, like his son Jimmy (played by actor Luke Edwards), to have a skill with NES games.
On February 8, 2009, Cynthia Nixon, Blair Underwood, and Bridges won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for their recording of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth.
In 2009, Bridges guest-starred as Eli Scruggs on the 100th episode of Desperate Housewives and received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance.
In 2010, Bridges signed with Chris Mallick in the production of the film Columbus Circle. On March 19, 2010, it was announced that Bridges would play the role of Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford, the father of private eye Jim Rockford, on the pilot episode of a new version of The Rockford Files,Ross, Robyn. Beau Bridges Joins Cast of Rockford Files", TV Guide, March 19, 2010. scheduled for production for broadcast in fall 2010. In 2011, he guest-starred as an old boyfriend of matriarch Nora Walker in Brothers and Sisters and as an attorney, estranged from his son Jared Franklin in Franklin & Bash.
On January 3, 2012, Bridges took on the role of J.B. Biggley in the hit revival of the Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, taking over for John Larroquette. He was contracted to play the role until July 1, 2012; however, the revival closed on May 20, 2012.
On October 3, 2013, Bridges became a major character on the CBS television show The Millers. He plays Tom, the father of two children: son Nathan Miller (Will Arnett) and daughter Debbie (Jayma Mays). Tom, after forty-three years of marriage, has gotten divorced and has moved back in with his daughter, driving her crazy. Bridges joined the series in early March 2013.
Bridges has had several roles in films since then, including Underdog Kids and Lawless Range in 2016. He has also had guest roles on the shows Masters of Sex and Code Black.
In 2024, Bridges took the role of the managing partner (Howard 'Senior' Markeson) of the law firm (Jacobson Moore) where alias Maddy Matlock works in the new Matlock series.
Awards Bridges has 14 Emmy Award nominations with three wins. He is one of only two actors to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or Special more than once, with two wins, Michael Moriarty is the second. 1992 Outstanding Lead Actor In A Miniseries Or Special, for Without Warning: The James Brady Story 1993 Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or Special, for The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom 1997 Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or Special, for The Second Civil War
Personal life
Bridges married Julie Landfield in 1964; the two divorced in 1974. They have two sons, including Jordan Bridges (b. 1973). He married Wendy Treece on April 10, 1984. They have three children.
Bridges is a Christian. He has stated that if the script calls for his character to say God's name in vain, he will ask the director if he can change the line. Bridges has been a vegan since 2004.
Bridges, his brother Jeff Bridges and late father Lloyd Bridges were among six veterans – the others being Jerry Coleman, Bob Feller and Brian Lamb – honored with the Lone Sailor Award by the United States Navy Memorial in 2011. The award recognizes Navy, Marine and Coast Guard veterans who have distinguished themselves in their civilian careers.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1948 No Minor Vices Bertram Force of Evil Frankie Tucker Uncredited 1949 The Red Pony Beau Zamba Tommy 1951 The Company She Keeps Obie Uncredited 1961 The Explosive Generation Mark 1965 Village of the Giants Fred 1967 The Incident Felix 1968 For Love of Ivy Tim Austin 1969 Gaily, Gaily Ben Harvey 1970 Adam's Woman Adam The Landlord Elgar 1971 The Christian Licorice Store Cane 1972 Hammersmith Is Out Billy Breedlove Child's Play Paul Reis 1973 Your Three Minutes Are Up Charlie 1974 Lovin' Molly Johnny 1975 The Other Side of the Mountain Dick Buek 1976 One Summer Love Jesse Swashbuckler Major Folly Two-Minute Warning Mike Ramsay 1977 Greased Lightning Hutch 1978 The Four Feathers Harry Faversham 1979 Norma Rae Sonny The Fifth Musketeer Louis XIV The Runner Stumbles Toby Felker 1980 Silver Dream Racer Bruce McBride 1981 Honky Tonk Freeway Duane Hansen 1982 Night Crossing Günter Wetzel Witness for the Prosecution Leonard Vole Love Child Jack Hansen 1983 Heart Like a Wheel Connie Kalitta 1984 The Hotel New Hampshire Mr. Win Berry 1985 Alice in Wonderland Unicorn 1987 The Killing Time Sam Wayburn The Wild Pair Joe Jennings Also director 1988 Seven Hours to Judgment John Eden 1989 The Iron Triangle Capt. Keene Signs of Life John Alder The Fabulous Baker Boys Frank Bakerco-starring Jeff Bridges The Wizard Sam Woods 1990 Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? Orville Turnover 1991 Married to It John Morden 1992 Sidekicks Jerry 1996 Jerry Maguire Matt Cushman Uncredited Hidden in America Bill Januson 1997 RocketMan Bud Nesbitt 1999 The White River Kid Daddy Weed 2000 Common Ground Father Leon Sordid Lives G.W. Nethercoth Meeting Daddy Larry Branson Songs in Ordinary Time Omar Duvall 2001 Voyage of the Unicorn Alan Aisling Boys Klub Mario's Dad 2003 Out of the Ashes Herman Prentiss 2004 10.5 President Paul Hollister Debating Robert Lee Mr. Lee 2005 The Ballad of Jack and Rose Marty Rance Smile Steven 2006 I-See-You.Com Harvey Bellinger The Good German Colonel Muller Charlotte's Web Dr. Dorian 2007 Americanizing Shelley Gary Gordon Spinning Into Butter Dean Burton Strauss 2008 Stargate: The Ark of Truth Major General Hank Landry Video Stargate: Continuum Max Payne B.B. Hensley 2010 Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove Gus Grisby Video My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Logan Young 2011 Don't Fade Away Chris White The Descendants Cousin Hugh 2012 Columbus Circle Dr. Ray Fontaine Eden Bob Gault Hit & Run Clint Perkins From Up on Poppy Hill Yoshio Onodera Voice, English dub A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 2013 Rushlights Sheriff Brogden 2014 1000 to 1: The Cory Weissman Story Coach Video The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Prince Kuramochi Voice, English dub 2015 Underdog Kids Ron 2016 Lawless Range Mr. Reed 2017 The Mountain Between Us Walter 2018 Galveston Stan All About Nina Larry Michaels Dirty Politics Hank 2019 Supervized Ted Elsewhere Dad 2020 One Night in Miami... Mr. Carlton 2022 Dreamin' Wild Don Sr. End of the Road Captain J.D. Hammers 2024 The Neon Highway Claude Allen 2025 Desert Road Old Man Blue Eyed Girl Post-production
Television