Jeff Bridges overcame anxiety

Jeff Bridges has revealed advice his mother gave him as a youngster has helped his anxiety.

The 66-year-old big screen icon – who is appearing in new crime drama ‘Hell or High Water’ – was given acting lessons from his father Lloyd Bridges, an actor who starred in many classics including ‘A Walk in the Sun’ and ‘High Noon’.

But it was mother Dorothy Bridges who has helped keep his anxiousness at bay.

He said: "There’s a lot of anxiety in filmmaking; you get flops and a fear of failure. But when I went off to work as a young kid, my mom would always say, ‘Remember now: have fun, and don’t take it too seriously.’ That advice has really served me. Don’t take yourself too damn seriously."

But Bridges says it feels "great" when things turn out to be even better than he expected on a project.

He said: "You always have high hopes when you start out and every once in a while those hopes are transcended. It’s even better than you thought. Sometimes the pieces don’t quite come together. Most often, actually. It’s kind of weird when it all comes together, but when it does it feels great."

And ‘The Big Lebowski’ star puts his longevity down to always playing a diverse array of characters and not allowing himself to become stereotyped.

He explained: "I’ve always been very conscious about not developing a strong persona. Actors that do carry that baggage with them in all the parts they play. It’s harder for the audience to see them as a character they’re not used to seeing them portray. Mix it up and you get offered a bunch of different types of roles. It sends a message and that might help with longevity in a career."