During Sunday night’s Golden Globes ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored Jeff Bridges’ lifetime achievement in film and philanthropy with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. This recognition arrives after over six decades of Bridges’ incredible body of work that has been recognized multiple times at the Globes (he was first nominated for 1984’s Starman and most recently for 2017’s Hell Or High Water), and the HFPA namechecked perhaps his most iconic role — “The Dude” from the Coen’ Brothers’ The Big Lebowski — during their previous announcement for the award. Bridges, who is known for being a man of many words, certainly did not disappoint after Chris Pine introduced the legend as “the Starman himself.”
Bridges went down a long and rambling road while reflecting upon his career, but notably, he took unprecedented pains to thank the stand-in actor (Loyd Catlett) who’s accompanied him through 70+ films (almost 50 years!) beginning with The Last Picture Show in 1971. The rest of the speech was a long-winded treat that included random statements including “We’re alive!” And never fear, he did pay tribute to The Dude. “If I’m lucky, I’ll be associated with The Dude for the rest of my life,” he raved. “And I feel so honored to be a part of that movie.”
“We can make a difference,” he also declared on a more serious, yet still effusive note. “We can turn this ship in the way we want to go, man! We can turn this ship toward love, toward creating a healthy planet for all of us. Tag, you’re it!” Overall, it’s a speech that won’t soon be forgotten.
Past recipients of this award include Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, and Meryl Streep, Alfred Hitchcock, and Clint Eastwood, among others. Last year, Winfrey’s fiery speech led some to speculate that she was thinking about a presidential run. That actually wasn’t the case, but maybe we can now start a rumor about The Dude 2020? Make it happen, Internet.
