Kingsman: The Golden Circle Jeff Bridges Interview





KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FROM 13TH JANUARY AND ON BLU-RAY AND DVD FROM 29TH JANUARY


Jeff Bridges won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 2009 film Crazy Heart, and earned nominations for his roles in The Last Picture Show (1971), Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974), Starman (1984), The Contender (2000), True Grit (2010), and Hell or High Water (2016). His other films include Tron (1982), Jagged Edge (1985), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Fisher King (1991), Fearless (1993), The Big Lebowski (1998), Seabiscuit (2003), Iron Man (2008), and The Giver (2014). In Kingsman: The Golden Circle he stars as Champagne, or ‘Champ’, the head of the Statesman…

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) - Movie Poster
What are the similarities and differences between a Kingsman and a Statesman?

They both want to save the world; that’s what they’re all about. And with their differences, it’d be cultural, their accents. I was talking about this with Colin Firth. There is a commonality with actors. You think there might be a clash between American and English actors but that’s not really true. We are all players. It’s like advanced ‘let’s pretend’ when you’re a kid. We are all just having a good time. It’s, ‘We’ve got something to do here and so let’s do it with as much joy as we can muster.’


Apparently you looked to your own father, Lloyd, as an inspiration when creating your character in this film?

One of the things I do when I prepare for a role, in fact probably the first thing I do, is to look inside myself. I think about aspects of myself that might work for the character. I might boost some of those up, and those things that don’t fit I kick to the kerb. And I look for some role models. My dad, Lloyd Bridges, was one of those for this film. Ted Turner was another guy. I liked Ted’s moustache and ripped that.


Do you see Champ as something of a modern-day cowboy?

I think so. There’s been talk of a third film and we’ll figure out more of his history at that time. I’m still kind of working on that. But with his appearance you’d think he was a cowboy of some sort.


You’ve inhabited some pretty iconic cowboy characters over the years. Why do you think that is?

It was an amazing time in history, and there are some very different brands of cowboy. You’ve got cowboys like Gary Cooper. My father was in High Noon with Gary, who was very stoic and straight-ahead. You've got "Gabby" Hayes, Slim Pickens, John Wayne; there are all sorts of different characters to draw from. I love playing cowboys. They’re a lot of fun.


When you watch the action in this film are you a little jealous of the other actors or are you glad you’re sitting behind a desk?

A little of both. I was so impressed with Colin. That fight scene with Colin in the church, in the first movie, that’ll be a benchmark for a hundred years! It was done so well and I thought, ‘It might be fun to do something like that.’ Inside myself there is a kid and an old guy, and the kid is saying, ‘Yeah, man!’ And the old guy is saying, ‘Ouch!’




KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE IS AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD FROM 13TH JANUARY AND ON BLU-RAY AND DVD FROM 29TH JANUARY