Jeff Bridges joins "Iron Man"

By: Karl Schneider
Date: Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Source: Hollywood Reporter

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jeff Bridges has joined the cast of Marvel Entertainment's Iron Man, helmed by Jon Favreau. He will join Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and Terrence Howard in the cast.

Bridges will play a longtime employee at defense contractor Stark Industries who plays a major role in shaping Stark's life.

"We've been talking to Jeff for long time," Marvel's president of production Kevin Feige said. "He's excited about doing a movie like this, and we're excited to have him in this particular role. There are many facets to this character which I can't discuss, but looking at the spectrum of all of Jeff's roles, this fits in nicely with the man who played 'Starman,' 'Tucker,' 'Big Lebowski' with a little bit 'Tron' thrown in.

"This rounds out our ensemble, and I think it's one of the strongest casts ever assembled for one of our films."

Filming is expected to begin sometime in March for a theatrical release on May 2, 2008.

KJ's Take: Another brilliant casting choice. All the pieces are there, Favreau just has to make them dance.

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Comments/Responses

jon41380 • Feb 06, 2007, 02:22am •

This seems to be rounding out to be a good film. The cast is there, let's just hope the story is too. I'm starting to look foward to this.

narpin • Feb 06, 2007, 03:48am •

That almost makes up for the tragic Paltrow casting. Almost....

madmanic999 • Feb 06, 2007, 04:49am •

a great cast does not make a great movie i.e. Batman and Robin, but you gotta get pumped with the choices they are making. Here's hoping shellhead rocks 2008.

ponyboy76 • Feb 06, 2007, 05:06am •

Well, I wouldn`t use Batman and Robin as an example. I mean yeah Clooney, Thurman, and maybe O`Donnel was pretty good casting, but Arnie and Silverston weren`t that good and you can`t forget the director.
The casting of Iron Man is so much better and I don`t see the problem with Paltrow. She is a very good actor. What I like about this flick and the Dark Knight is they are actually getting good actors to play these parts and not just action oriented people.

mlaforcer • Feb 06, 2007, 06:26am •

I think this is turning out to be one of the best comic book castings thus far...Jeff Bridges is a great addition and though I don't know that much about Iron Man and the possable part he will be playing In it, I will be holding out for high expectations for this movie...NARPIN, either you don't like Paltrow period or you don't like her being casted in this particular movie for this particular part but either way I think your expectations will be met when it is all said and done...I for one love her body of work and have thought of her as one of the more beautiful blonds in Hollywood but that is just me...Oh, by the way I may butt heads with you sometimes but that is all it is, no hard feelings ya?

wessmith1966 • Feb 06, 2007, 07:49am •

This really is a terrific cast. I read an interview with Paltrow and she's saying all the right things about being in Iron Man. I think she's a good actress and will make a good Pepper. I'm really jazzed about Favreau getting a hold of this cast and making a great Iron Man movie.

jarodimus • Feb 06, 2007, 08:58am •

First, let me say that I consider myself a big Jeff Bridges fan.

However, I'm not sure how KJ can say this is a "brilliant casting choice" before we know more about the character. "A longtime employee at defense contractor Stark Industries who plays a major role in shaping Stark's life" is not terribly specific with regard to how well Bridges may or may not fit.

Mark me down for the Paltrow = "meh" camp, too....

lancedenier • Feb 06, 2007, 09:03am •

Cool. Now if Favreau can just get them all to work together and tell a good story.

godsonfilm • Feb 06, 2007, 09:08am •

I would think Jeff Bridges rounds out a brilliant cast because he is considered to be a brilliant actor. If you check his track record, the roles he chooses to play are usually centered around acting more than action or special effects. Once you add a great actor with great special effects and a solid "noteworthy" story, you have a great film. And assuming he agreed to this role, I am pretty sure he read the script and liked it. That says a lot for me.

fft5305 • Feb 06, 2007, 10:26am •

Amen, godsonfilm! FWIW, I'm guessing he's playing Happy Hogan. Now, the question is, who will play Mandarin? Based on their track record on casting so far, I'd have to say Ken Watanabe. He's asian (Hollywood doesn't know Japanese from Chinese from Korean), and he's Oscar nominated.

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