Early life

Bridges was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actors Lloyd (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), and later transferred to the University of Hawaii. 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 the iconic film Force of Evil, and in 1949 he played a secondary 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, 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 Other Side of the Mountain (1975), Greased Lightning (1977), Norma Rae (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.

His role in the movie "Smile" with Linda Hamilton and Sean Astin, showcased his personal beliefs in helping others. 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 aides Wahlberg on his quest to bring down a serial killer. The film got 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 lumber company owner that would later find, 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 movie 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, 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, he 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 May 20, 2012.

On October 3, 2013, he became a major character on the CBS television show The Millers. Bridges plays Tom, the father of two children, Nathan Miller (Will Arnett), and daughter, Debbie (Jayma Mays). Tom, after forty three years has gotten divorced, and has moved back in with his daughter, driving her crazy. He joined the series in early March, 2013.

He has had several roles in movies since then including Underdog Kids, and most recently Lawless Range, 2016. He has also has visiting roles in the shows Masters of Sex, and Code Black.

Awards

Bridges has 14 Emmy Award nominations with three wins. He is the only actor to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or Special more than once, with two wins.

• 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 and the two divorced in 1984. They have two sons: Casey Bridges (b. 1969) and actor Jordan Bridges (b. 1973). He married Wendy Treece in 1984. They have three children: Dylan Bridges (b. 1984), Emily Bridges (b. 1986), and Ezekiel Jeffrey "Zeke" Bridges (b. 1993).

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 is a vegan and has been since 2004.

Bridges, his brother Jeff and late father Lloyd 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	Force of Evil	Frankie Tucker	Uncredited
1949	The Red Pony	Beau
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
1970	The Landlord	Elgar
1971	The Christian Licorice Store	Cane
1971	Robert Young and the Family	Sketch Actor	Television film
1972	Hammersmith Is Out	Billy Breedlove
1972	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	Swashbuckler	Major Folly
1976	Two-Minute Warning	Mike Ramsay
1976	One Summer Love	Jesse
1977	The Four Feathers	Harry Faversham	Television film
1977	Greased Lightning	Hutch
1978	The President's Mistress	Ben Morton	Television film
1979	The Runner Stumbles	Toby Felker
1979	Norma Rae	Sonny
1979	The Fifth Musketeer	Louis XIV
1980	Silver Dream Racer	Bruce McBride
1981	Night Crossing	Guenter
1981	Honky Tonk Freeway	Duane Hansen
1982	Love Child	Jack Hansen
1982	Witness for the Prosecution	Leonard Vole	Television film
1983	Heart Like a Wheel	Connie
1984	The Hotel New Hampshire	Mr. Win Berry
1985	Alice in Wonderland	Unicorn
1987	The Killing Time	Sam Wayburn
1988	Seven Hours to Judgement	John Eden
1989	The Fabulous Baker Boys	Frank Baker
1989	The Iron Triangle	Capt. Keene
1989	Signs of Life	John Alder
1989	Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure	Richard Czech	Television film
1989	The Wizard	Sam Woods
1990	Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will?	Orville Turnover
1991	Wildflower	Jack Perkins	Television film
1991	Without Warning: The James Brady Story	James Brady	Television film
1991	Married to It	John Morden
1992	Sidekicks	Jerry
1993	The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom	Terry Harper	Television film
1993	The Man with Three Wives	Norman Grayson	Television film
1994	Million Dollar Babies	Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe	Television film
1995	Kissinger & Nixon	Richard Nixon	Television film
1996	A Stranger to Love	Allan Grant	Television film
1996	Jerry Maguire	Matt Cushman	Uncredited
1996	Losing Chase	Richard Phillips	Television film
1996	Hidden in America	Bill Januson	Television film
1996	Nightjohn	Clel Waller	Television film
1997	The Second Civil War	Jim Farley	Television film
1997	RocketMan	Bud Nesbitt
1999	P.T. Barnum	P.T. Barnum	Television film
1999	Inherit the Wind	E.K. Hornbeck	Television film
2000	Common Ground	Father Leon
2000	Sordid Lives	G.W. Nethercoth
2000	Songs in Ordinary Time	Omar Duvall
2001	Voyage of the Unicorn	Alan Aisling
2001	Boys Klub	Mario's Dad
2002	We Were the Mulvaneys	Michael Mulvaney, Sr.	Television film
2003	Out of the Ashes	Herman Prentiss
2004	Debating Robert Lee	Mr. Lee
2004	Evel Knievel	John Bork
2004	10.5	President Paul Hollister
2005	Smile	Steven
2005	The Ballad of Jack and Rose	Marty Rance
2006	10.5: Apocalypse	President Paul Hollister	Television film
2006	The Good German	Colonel Muller
2006	I-See-You.Com	Harvey Bellinger
2006	Charlotte's Web	Dr. Dorian
2007	Spinning Into Butter	Dean Burton Strauss
2008	Stargate: The Ark of Truth	Major General Hank Landry
2008	Stargate: Continuum	Major General Hank Landry
2008	Max Payne	BB Hensley
2008	Americanizing Shelley	Gary Gordon
2009	Don't Fade Away	Chris White
2010	My Girlfriend's Boyfriend	Logan Young
2010	Columbus Circle	Dr. Ray Fontaine
2010	Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove	Gus Grisby
2011	The Descendants	Cousin Hugh
2011	Game Time: Tackling the Past	Frank Walker	Television film
2012	Hit & Run	Clint Perkins
2012	Eden	Bob Gault
2012	From Up on Poppy Hill	Yoshio Onodera
2014	1000 to 1: The Cory Weissman Story	Coach
2014	Tumbledown
2015	Underdog Kids

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1960-1963	My Three Sons	Russ Burton	3 episodes
1960-1961	Sea Hunt	Warren Tucker	2 episodes
1961	The Real McCoys	Randy Cooperton	Episode: "The Rich Boy"
1962	National Velvet	Mercutio	Episode: "The Star"
1962	Wagon Train	Larry Gill	Episode: "The John Bernard Show"
1962-1963	Ensign O'Toole	Seaman Spicer	32 episodes
1963	Rawhide	Billy Johanson	Episode: "Incident at Paradise"
1963	Ben Casey	Larry Masterson	2 episodes
1964	The Eleventh Hour	Leonard	Episode: "Cannibal Plants, They Eat You Alive"
1964	Combat!	Orville Putnam	Episode: "The Short Day of Private Putnam"
1964	My Three Sons	Howard Sears	2 episodes
1965	Twelve O'Clock High	Cpl. Steven Corbett	Episode: "Then Came the Mighty Hunter"
1966	Gunsmoke	Jason	Episode: "My Father's Guitar"
1966	Branded	Lon Allison	Episode:"Nice Day for a Hanging"
1967	Bonanza	Horace	Episode: "Justice"
1967	Cimarron Strip	Billie Joe Show	Episode: "Legend of Jud Starr"
1978	Hallmark Hall Of Fame	Stubby Pringle	Episode: "Stubby Pringle's Christmas"
1980	United States	Richard Chapin	13 episodes
1991	Tales from the Crypt	Dr. Martin Fairbanks	Episode: "Abra Cadaver"
1993-1994	Harts of the West	Dave Heart	15 episodes
1995	The Outer Limits	Dr. Simon Kress	Episode: "The Sandkings"
1998	Maximum Bob	Judge Bob Gibbs	7 episodes
2000	The Wild Thornberrys	Hayden Adam	Episode: "Every Little Bit Alps"
2002	Will & Grace	Daniel McFarland	Episode: "Moveable Feast"
2001-2003	The Agency	Tom Gage	32 episodes
2005	Into the West	Stephen Hoxie	Episode: "Manifest Destiny"
2005-2007	Stargate SG-1	Major General Hank Landry	35 episodes
2005-2006	Stargate: Atlantis	Major General Hank Landry	5 episodes
2005-2006	American Dad!	Lieutenant Eddie Thacker	1 episode
2005-2008	My Name Is Earl	Carl Hickey	7 episodes
2009	Desperate Housewives	Eli Scruggs	Episode: "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened"
2009	The Closer	Detective George Andrews	Episode: "Make Over"
2011	Brothers & Sisters	Nick Brody	5 episodes
2011-2012	Franklin & Bash	Leonard Franklin	3 episodes
2011-2012	White Collar	Agent Kramer	3 episodes
2013	The Goodwin Games	Benjamin Goodwin	3 episodes
2013-present	Masters of Sex	Barton Scully	14 episodes
2014	"Bubble Guppies"	Mr Claws	1 episode
2013-2015	The Millers	Tom Miller	34 episodes
2015	Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero	Sheriff Scaley Briggs (voice)	3 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1969	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture	For Love of Ivy	Nominated
1990	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	The Fabulous Baker Boys	Nominated
	National Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Supporting Actor		Won
1992	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Without Warning: The James Brady Story	Won
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie		Won
1993		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom	Won
1994	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Won
1995	CableACE Awards	Actor in a Drama Series	The Outer Limits	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
1996		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Kissinger & Nixon	Nominated
1997	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Losing Chase	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Hidden in America	Nominated
		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	The Second Civil War	Won
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Hidden in America	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie		Nominated
1999	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	Inherit the Wind	Nominated
2000		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	P.T. Barnum	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
2002	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	We Were the Mulvaneys	Nominated
2007		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	My Name Is Earl	Nominated
2008	Grammy Award	Best Spoken Word Album	An Inconvenient Truth	Won
2009	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives	Nominated
2010		Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer	Nominated
2011	Gotham Awards	Best Cast	The Descendants	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Brothers & Sisters	Nominated
2012	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Cast	The Descendants	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Nominated
2014	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series	Masters of Sex	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
2015	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated

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[ Source: Wikipedia ]