Personal life

Bridgers was born in 1968 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Ben and Sue Ellen Bridgers. Ben was the tribal attorney for the Cherokee Indian tribe and published a memoir and books of poetry. Sue Ellen Bridgers is a novelist with seven published novels.

He graduated from St. Andrew's-Sewanee School and Western Carolina University. In interviews, Bridgers has mentioned that as a screenwriter he is influenced by his favorite author Mark Twain and developed an interest in acting after seeing Robert Duvall in Tender Mercies when he was 14 years old. Bridgers started watching everything by Tender Mercies screenwriter Horton Foote, and Duvall and Foote became his biggest creative influences.

Sean Bridger's children are also actors. His son, Jackson, has acted in roles on Justified and Deadwood, as well as his daughter, Kate, who starred in Bridgers' 2012 short, The Birthday Present.

Recent productions

Acting

Bridgers has received praise for a diversity of roles in both film and television, including his role as Johnny Burns on HBO's Deadwood, and his role as the father in Lucky McKee's feature film, The Woman. His co-starring role in the southern-horror film, from writer/director Chad Crawford Kinkle's Slamdance award-winning screenplay, Jug Face, released by the studio Moderncine, again proved Bridgers as a prolific performer in the horror genre.

Bridgers received praise for his performance from FEARnet, Dread Central, Birth.Movies.Death, and Starburst Magazine critics, among others.

Bridgers has also received acclaim for his role as Trey Willis on Rectify, notably in one of the series most talked about episodes in Season 3. Reviewer Nick Hogan, on tvovermind.com wrote, "this was one of the most gut-wrenching episodes of Rectify in some time. Mostly because Sean Bridgers does a masterful job portraying Trey..." Mark Walker wrote in The Copenhagen Post that Bridgers' performance as Old Nick in Room was "brilliantly restrained".

Writing/directing

Bridgers, along with his producing and directing partner, Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot have been developing a dark western, noted as a "Faustian western" that takes place in the South during the Civil War titled Arkansas Traveler. Bridgers wrote the original screenplay and the production company he is partner in with Hemschoot, Travelin' Productions, produced and shot a trailer of the film featuring a cast including Garret Dillahunt and Angela Bettis.

Actor and filmmaker Ray McKinnon commented on Bridgers' screenplay:

Arkansas Traveler is one of the best un-produced scripts I have read in the last decade, it's not just the complex, larger narrative of the end of the Civil War and the amazing backdrop of the protagonist's travels, but Arkansas Traveler offers the continual smaller surprises of behavior and plot - of man's inhumanity to man and his infinite humanity. It's universal and timeless and must get made.

Bridgers and Hemschoot, under their production companies Travelin' Productions and Colorado animation studio Worker Studio are also developing an animated documentary about decorated World War II pilot John H. Ross.

Filmography

Film

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1992	Children of the Corn II: The Final Sacrifice	Jedediah
1993	Road-Kill U.S.A.	Josh
1994	Getting In	Dumpster Hunter	Credited as Sean Bridges
1994	Nell	Mike Ibarra
1995	Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored	Mr. Bob
1997	Paradise Falls	Henry Bancroft	Producer and Co-wrote with mother Sue Ellen Bridgers, Dir. Nick Searcy. Won Best Feature at Hollywood Film Festival
2002	Clover Bend	Tyler	With David Keith, Robert Urich, Barry Corbin
2002	Lullaby	Diesel	Lead role
2002	Sweet Home Alabama	Eldon
2003	Apple Jack	Les Danyou	Short film; The short won awards at L.A. Shorts Fest and Deep Ellum Film Festival
2007	Jake's Closet	Peter	Lead role
2008	A Night at the Zoo	Donny	Short film; Producer, writer and co-director with Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot
2008	Witless Protection	Norm
2009	Cold Storage	Unnamed	Starred Nick Searcy
2011	The Woman	Chris Cleek	Lead role
2011	Blood on My Name	Thomas	Short film; Lead role
2012	The Birthday Present	Dad	Short film; Co-director with Michael Hemschoot. Bridgers' daughter Kate starred as Joey
2012	The Graveyard Feeder	Burke Sawyer	Short film
2013	Jug Face	Dawai
2014	The Best of Me	Tommy Cole
2015	Legs	Ford
2015	Trumbo	Jeff Krandall
2015	Dark Places	Runner Day
2015	Room	Old Nick
2015	Blue	Sheriff Hawkes
2016	Midnight Special	Fredrick
2016	The Whole Truth	Arthur Westin
2016	Free State of Jones	Sumrall	June 24, 2016 Release
2016	The Magnificent Seven	Fanning	Filming

Television

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story	Ralph Welch	TV movie; Credited as Sean Bridges
1995	Death in Small Doses	Mr. Carter	TV movie
1995	American Gothic	Policeman	Season 1: Episode #2, Episode #20
1995	Murderous Intent	Dennis	TV movie
1996	Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden	Jeff (Teen #1)	TV movie
1997	The Secret	Aaron Clemens	TV movie
1997	Close to Danger	Donna's Date	TV movie
1998	Legacy	William Winters	2 episodes
1999	A.T.F.	Smitty	TV movie; Written by Patricia Cornwell
2000	After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped	Robert	TV movie
2000	Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family	Brian	Credited as Sean Bridges in Episode #9 "Turtle Soup"
2004	3: The Dale Earnhardt Story	Neil Bonnett	TV movie
2004-2006	Deadwood	Johnny Burns	36 episodes, shared nomination for SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama
2006	Criminal Minds	James Charles	Season 2, Episode #28 "The Boogeyman"
2006	Cold Case	Ty Sugar	Season 4, Episode #11 "The Red and the Blue"
2007	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Art Schuster	Season 7, Episode #24 "Living Doll"
2008	12 Miles of Bad Road	Lyle Hartsong	Season 1, 6 episodes
2008-2009	Private Practice	Frank	2 episodes
2009	House Rules	Cameron Drummer	TV movie; Directed by Daniel Minahan
2009	Saving Grace	Carl Lafong	Season 2, Episode #9 "Do You Believe in Second Chances?"
2009	Bones	John Collins	Season 5, Episode #6 "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken"
2009	Lie to Me	Harold Clark	Season 2, Episode #10 "Tractor Man"
2010	The Mentalist	Ranger Tisdale	Season 2, Episode #18 "Aingavite Baa"
2010	Justified	Virgil Corum	Season 1, Episode #10 "The Hammer"
2010	True Blood	Big Bobby	Season 3, Episode 7 "Hitting the Ground"
2011	Hart of Dixie	Leon Mercy	Season 1, Episode #6 "The Undead & The Unsaid"
2011-2012	Raising Hope	Jack	2 episodes
2012-2015	Rectify	Trey Willis	Season 1, Season 2, Season 3. From creator Ray McKinnon
Video Games
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	L.A. Noire	Voice	Rockstar Games

[ Source: Wikipedia ]