No more Mister Nice Guy for Jeff Bridges. After 30 movies in which his was the character we trusted, Bridges has taken on a series of roles which show him as an edgy outsider. In The Fabulous Baker Boys, he was a cold and distant musician who kept the world, and Michelle Pfeiffer, at bay with his wise banter. Bridges proves to be a real anomaly. Although he comes from a "Hollywood family" and his work has brought him almost unanimous critical and public acclaim, more than anything, he seems like an average guy. No attitude, no swinging egos, no scenes. Just a family man who adores his wife and three daughters, and one of the hardest working actors in America, about whom nobody has a bad word to say. "I've had day players who had more attitude than he did," says his Baker Boys director, Steve Kloves. "He's the easiest friend to talk to other people about, because you don't have to lie or hide things." Jeff Bridges is also notoriously interview-shy.

Jeff Bridges: Sometimes I find this flattering, that people will want to know what I think about things, especially if they're things I'm interested in. But I also like that the audience is never really sure what I'm capable of. They see me in Jagged Edge or Baker Boys or Texasville, and they're not sure who I am. I like that. Sometimes after I finish a movie, and I've been averaging about two a year, I think that I never want to do it again. It's like a muscle that you can't quite locate, but it's in there somewhere and it's sore. You don't want to make it work again. Then after I get home and I'm with my family, then somehow I get horny to work.

Which actor or actress have you found to be the most difficult to work with?

Jeff Bridges: Well, it'd have to be my brother. I don't know if you have older brothers, he was merciless in his teasing of me. I got back at him during the fight scene when I bent his fingers back and sent him to the hospital.

This infamous moment occurred during the filming of The Fabulous Baker Boys.

Jeff Bridges: We had this idea that I was going to mess with his piano guy's fingers. And what we failed to do was give a word that meant stop. So, when he said, "Stop, you're hurting me," I thought, oh, you're acting your ass off, sucker. I actually sent him to the hospital. I felt bad about that.

Apparently you very nearly broke his hand?

Jeff Bridges: It was a mistake. We had a wonderful time gaffing this fight, but we didn't have a stop word. I didn't know he was in terrible pain.

The two of you certainly put in an excellent performance.

Jeff Bridges: We don't have to act brothers, that was handled 40 years ago.

You both seemed to enjoy working together on Baker Boys.

Jeff Bridges: That was the best experience I ever had on a movie, because of working with Beau. We hadn't really done much together before, but during Baker Boys we had dinner together every night, and we had such a good time. We kept pinching ourselves and saying, 'Can You believe how lucky we are?' I'd love to work with him as a director. He's fantastic.

There may be no competition in your eyes, but the public perception is an entirely different matter, and it's reflected in the parts you're offered.

Jeff Bridges: As far as Beau is concerned, we're on the same team,we root for each other, and if perhaps my parts are slightly more attractive, or are simply perceived that way by others, he's very content.

Which of the movies you've starred in is your favourite?

Jeff Bridges: That is always a tough question to answer. They're like children. Each one is so different. You love them all for different reasons. I suppose certain favorite ones do come to mind. The Fabulous Baker Boys was a fabulous opportunity to work with my brother. A wonderful script written by Steve Kloves, who also directed the film as well. I think he wrote that film when he was 24 and directed when he was 26. It's such a mature piece of filmmaking for someone so young to have written and directed. And, of course, there was that terribly unattractive and untalented girl that I had to work opposite. And of course I'm kidding. Michelle was a dream to work with, so talented. Not only does she have terrific acting chops, but she is a wonderful singer.

So will there be future Bridges-brothers films like Baker Boys?

Jeff Bridges: I would love to work with my brother again to break the other hand (wink). Beau and I are producing something. We're developing a production company, so maybe we'll direct something together. (Jeff laughs) 'The Bridges brothers'. Sounds good, doesn't it?

You've worked with a lot of interesting leading ladies. Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys?

Jeff Bridges: Incredible.

The piano scene …

Jeff Bridges: Oh yeah! That was great! She was an amazing singer. You know I think I bet her a thousand bucks, which I never cashed in on, that she would get a record deal. And I think she did, but she didn't accept it. She's got a wonderful voice. I love her rendition of so many of the tunes but my favorite was "More Than You Know." It was her first song she does as an audition. And "My Funny Valentine," she does a great version of that.

How many takes of that scene did they do?

Jeff Bridges: It was a really tough scene. It took forever. Michael Ballhaus did a beautiful job photographing it. It took a very long time to light that scene, because it was a 360-degree pan around that piano. So where do you put the lights? We worked all night to light that thing, and must have started shooting it at like 4 in the morning. So it was such a tribute to Michelle that she was able to do such a great job. It was wonderful working with her. She's another person who kind of approaches the work in the same way [I do]. She likes to rehearse; she likes to talk to everybody. She's got a very down-to-earth side to her that's very appealing. She plays so many different kinds of roles. She's great.

Working with good directors is something you've certainly taken advantage of over the years.

Jeff Bridges: I'll say. I've had my share of great directors. And alot of first time guys who've gone on to great things: Cimino, Benton, Richert, Kloves. In a way, I'm very manipulative towards directors. My theory is that everyone on the set is directing the film, we're all receiving art messages from the universe on how we should do the film. It comes to us, and then we shoot it out for the director. And you have to respect the roles that everybody plays in the process. And keep your fingers crossed.

What draws you to a script?

Jeff Bridges: A lot of times I don't know what it is, and I have to make the movie to find out. I can intellectualize it and try to figure it out, but it always seems that it's not clear to me until after the fact. There's something that I enjoy when I'm watching a movie, and also when I read a script that attracts me, which is when you feel there's an apparent lack of obligation to the audience - they're not trying to manipulate you. Ultimately it's about manipulation, but to that masked so well that you can't tell you're being manipulated is a skill. With Baker Boys and American Heart, it's like spying through a hole, watching what's going on.

Currently you seem to own those cynical, bitter antihero roles, as in Baker Boys and The Fisher King. What is your access to that sensibility, for yourself?

Jeff Bridges: I think people like to cast against type. I consider myself a kind of laid back, easy going guy, and I've made a lot of good ol' boys things. Taking that kind of guy and making him more cynical can broaden the picture. I have kind of theory I'm not sure is absolutely true, but I think that most people who are cynics are really crushed romantics: they've been hurt, they're sensitive, and their cynicism is like a shell that's protecting this tiny, dear part in them that's still alive. And the reverse may be true: that people who are optimists have a seed, possibly of cynicism. It all gets down to love and fear of losing love.

Jeff Bridges does share one interest with his Baker Boys alter-ego Jack Baker; music. When he's not working, he says he's always been not only a painter and a photographer but also a musician.

Jeff Bridges: I've been playing and writing since I was a kid. I'm not as prolific now because I don't get the opportunity to work at it constantly, but it seems like I'm at my most fertile while working on a film - usually late at night after we wrap for the day. Whenever I'm out doing a movie, I bring along a tape deck and lay down some basement quality stuff, so some overdubs, entertain myself.

And you had the opportunity to play onscreen in Baker Boys?

Jeff Bridges: That was me sort of playing. What you heard was Dave Grusin. Movies are like magic tricks. To create that illusion that I was playing those pieces, I got the director to tell us when we were shooting the playing shots. I took a video camera and watched where David played and learned those passages he played and played them on the piano. I practiced and it was wonderful to play the pieces he wrote. On the day of shooting, they would deaden the piano, so they would see me playing, but hear David's music.

Have you ever sung in a movie?

Jeff Bridges: In American Heart. I sang in that. I sang in The Fabulous Baker Boys, too, just a few little things. But have I ever gone out and sung a song as if I were a singer? No, not yet.