What's with Jeff Bridges and that weird speech thing he's got going?

I will agree with the acting assessment.
However, after about five minutes of this speaking style I plead for him to spit out that huge loogie.
Just as you are able to gloss over any infractions concerning Jeff when he is acting, I am unable to fully enjoy his performance if he is using this irritating style of speaking.

 

Here's a recent long form interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast (the talk with Jeff starts at 57:10).

 

Classic Jeff. Love him

 

I think Jeff is just doing it for the character he's playing.

 

I can see your point but, his current voice does not bother me.. )

 

Seventh Son would have been a much better film had he spoke his lines normal. It was also bad in RIPD if I recall (might be wrong). There is a point where some actors over act and it becomes a distracting focal point.

 

He does it in Kingsman also.

 

Correct from my perspective. When Jeff uses this slurred, garbled mouth, style of speaking as the characters main way of speaking it gets in the way of, rather than enhancing the character.
But Hey! As good an actor as he may be, he is not infallible and this particular speaking style is quite fallible...to me anyway.

 

"Hot...and I don't mean the good kind."

 

Yep. He does it in Kingsman also. It wasn't enough to ruin the movie. The movie sucked quite successfully on its own without that mumbling voice bringing it down farther.

 

It's painfully predictable now. No it's not his normal speaking voice as some have said. It doesn't make sense to me. Some roles may require a distinct voice but his is the same over as over again which adds nothing to his performance. Maybe if you watch 5 of his movies back to back , you'd shake your head too.

 

He was a guest on the Howard Stern Show a year or two ago and he sounded totally fine to me. Maybe he's just doing a bit and having a private joke. Bridges sounded to me like a "gentle hippy" kind of guy, a whole lot of "man's" and stuff like that in his speech, very optimistic and upbeat but also totally laid-back.

 

He was on Colbert not long ago and I noticed his speech was different. Also saw him in a movie not long ago, and noticed it. Can't recall the name of the movie at the moment.

 

I agree with the drift that early Jeff Bridges was great, but late Jeff Bridges with the "mouth of marbles" stuff just doesn't cut it. I no longer look forward to him in movies. I'll take high water, maybe even hell, but no more garbled hyperbolic over-the-top gibberish.

 

He's hardly in it, beginning/ end.

 

Bridges.
What happened to his BB Brian Wilson bio pic. His slurred style would be in character at least " back home that's where you'll find me ".

 

I noticed it way back in Arlington Road in 1999

 

Just playing up to the types of roles he's slipped into.

 

So then he really is the Gabby Hayes of our generation.

 

It's now a 10 yr old movie but, he sounded and spoke normal in Iron Man

 

Yeah but since then more than half his roles have been either 'Texan good ol' boy' or Gabby Hayes types (certainly his main leading roles).

I think he's found his comfortable niche shall we say?

 

Jeff Bridges Sleeping Tapes - Squarespace

Sleeping Tapes - Wikipedia

 

About the way he holds his mouth, talking or change in his speech......I have read that its because his nephews dog bit the end of his tongue off.