Jeff Bridges is simply beloved by stoners for his portrayal of "The Dude" in The Big Lebowksi.

Born in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, 1949, the veteran actor and Hollywood icon is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges (and brother of Beau). He first made his mark on the silver screen in 1971 in The Last Picture Show, for which he received his first of four Oscar nominations. (His second was for Thunderbolt and Lightfoot in 1974).

Bridges had a great run of cool roles in '80s flicks, from Tron and Starman (his third Oscar nom), to Against All Odds and 8 Million Ways to Die, to The Fabulous Baker Boys and Tucker: The Man and His Dream.

In 1998, Bridges donned a robe and slippers, drank White Russians and smoked pot in the Coens Brothers' stoner classic, The Big Lebowski. His character Jeff Lebowski (a.k.a. The Dude) is based on a '60s activist (Jeff Dowd) who's lost his passion to change the world and would rather just bowl. That is, until The Dude is mistaken for another Jeff Lebowski and two guys take a piss on his rug.

"[I did] my best to follow this script, word, by ellipses, by 'fuck,' by 'man,' every little thing," Bridges told Rolling Stone in 2008. "I tried to put an extra 'man' in or an extra 'fuck,' or a pause or something, and it didn't feel as right. It felt undone. It was just written so perfectly."

Over the last decade, Bridges appeared in The Contender (his fourth Oscar nom), Sea Biscuit, Iron Man, and most recently The Men Who Stare at Goats and Crazy Heart, for which he's expected to receive his fifth Academy Award nomination.

Bridges smokes pot sporadically, "usually around Christmastime is when the harvest comes in, and somebody will say, 'Hey! Look what I've got!'"

Bridges finally won his first Oscar for Crazy Heart (he also won the 2010 Golden Globe for Best Actor).

He's currently starring in the Coen Brothers' remake of the 1969 Western, True Grit, and as Kevin Flynn in Tron Legacy. PBS recently aired the tribute Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides.

Also see:
Jeff Bridges' Website
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