Born in Los Angeles, California on December 9, 1941, Beau Bridges is an Emmy Award-winning actor. He is the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Dean Simpson, as well as the older brother of actor Jeff Bridges. He played a secondary role in the movie The Red Pony in 1949, but wanted to become a basketball star. He played the sport during his freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles. He then transferred to the University of Hawaii. He realized that his height became a problem when playing basketball, so he dropped out of school to pursue an acting career.
Beau Bridges was given small roles in television series, appearing in The Clear Horizon and Zane Grey Theater in the 1960s. He was also cast in National Velvet and Wagon Train, before appearing on his father’s The Lloyd Bridges Show as Skippy Mannox. His television career blossomed during that time, and he was cast in TV movies like The Legend of Jud Starr. He was given roles in numerous films throughout the 1970s, playing Paul Reis in Child’s Play and Charlie in Your Three Minutes Are Up. He was noted for playing Sam Woods in the 1989 film The Wizard, which earned him the nickname Bumblin’ Beau Bridges because of the character. He also played opposite his brother in The Fabulous Baker Boys, which became Beau’s best known role. He was also seen in 1996’s Jerry Maguire, but was uncredited for his performance. Before that, he starred in the first of The Outer Limits, in a two-part episode. Bridges also played the character Judge Bob Gibbs in Maximum Bob, an ABC series that lasted one season. He also had a recurring role in the Showtime series Beggars and Choosers from 199 to 2000. He became a guest star on the sitcom Will & Grace and took on the role of Senator Tom Gage in The Agency for over 30 episodes. He was next cast as the new commander of Stargate Command in Stargate SG-1 in January 2005. He was also cast in Stargate Atlantis, a spin-off series of the show. Bridges also played the father of the title character in the NBC comedy My Name is Earl, for which he received a 2007 Emmy Award nomination.
-I like to try to make the characters I play be as human as possible.
-My father was my teacher. But most importantly he was a great dad.
-My favorite roles usually have to do with the story, if it's a good story I usually enjoy doing the character.
-Sure, I have a lot of friends that are actors. Just because I guess I run into a lot of actors in my work.