In 1948, Bridges had an uncredited juvenile role in
Force of Evil, and a role as Bertram in
No Minor Vices. In 1949, he played a third juvenile role in the film
The Red Pony. In the 1962–1963 television season, Bridges, along with his younger brother, Jeff, appeared on their father's
CBS anthology series,
The Lloyd Bridges Show. He appeared in other television series too, including:
National Velvet,
The Fugitive,
Combat, Gunsmoke, Bonanza,
Mr. Novak and
The Loner. In 1965, he guest-starred as Corporal Corbett in "Then Came the Mighty Hunter", Season 2, Episode 3 of the military series, ''
Twelve O'Clock High. He found steady work in television and film throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He appeared in such feature films during that time as The Landlord (1970), The Other Side of the Mountain (1975), Greased Lightning (1977), Norma Rae (1979), The Fifth Musketeer (1979), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and The Hotel New Hampshire'' (1984). ,'' in 2008 In 1989, in perhaps his best-known role, he starred opposite his brother Jeff as one of
The Fabulous Baker Boys. In the 1993–94 television season, Bridges appeared with his father in the 15-episode CBS comedy/
western series,
Harts of the West, set at a
dude ranch in Nevada. In 1995, Bridges starred with his father and his son Dylan in "
The Sandkings", the two-part
pilot episode of the
Showtime science fiction series
The Outer Limits. In 1998, he starred as Judge Bob Gibbs in the one-season
Maximum Bob on
ABC. He had a recurring role in the Showtime series
Beggars and Choosers (1999–2000). In 2001, he guest-starred as Daniel McFarland, the stepfather of
Jack McFarland, in two episodes of the
NBC sitcom
Will & Grace. He played a single father and college professor in the fantasy adventure film
Voyage of the Unicorn, based on the novel by
James C. Christensen. From 2002 to 2003, he took on the role of Senator Tom Gage, newly appointed Director of the
Central Intelligence Agency, in over 30 episodes of the drama series
The Agency. In January 2005, he was cast as
Major General Hank Landry, the new commander of
Stargate Command in
Stargate SG-1. He also played the character in five episodes of the spin-off series
Stargate Atlantis as well as the two
direct-to-DVD films
Stargate: The Ark of Truth and
Stargate: Continuum. In November 2005, he guest-starred as Carl Hickey, the father of the title character in the hit
NBC comedy
My Name Is Earl. Bridges' character became recurring. Bridges received a 2007
Emmy Award nomination for his performance. flight deck to promote
Stargate: Continuum, July 2008 In 2008, Bridges co-starred in the motion picture
Max Payne, based on the
video game character. The film also starred
Mark Wahlberg and
Mila Kunis. Bridges portrayed "BB" Hensley, an ex-cop who aids Wahlberg on his quest to bring down a
serial killer. The film received mixed reviews, but Bridges' participation was noted for being a positive one. It was not the first motion picture with Bridges regarding the video game world;
The Wizard had him in a role as a landscaping company owner who was later found, like his son Jimmy (played by actor Luke Edwards), to have a skill with
NES games. On February 8, 2009,
Cynthia Nixon,
Blair Underwood, and Bridges won a
Grammy Award for
Best Spoken Word Album for their recording of
Al Gore's
An Inconvenient Truth. In 2009, Bridges guest-starred as Eli Scruggs on
the 100th episode of Desperate Housewives and received an Emmy Award nomination for his performance. In 2010, Bridges signed with Chris Mallick in the production of the film
Columbus Circle. On March 19, 2010, it was announced that Bridges would play the role of Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford, the father of private eye
Jim Rockford, on the pilot episode of a new version of
The Rockford Files, scheduled for production for broadcast in fall 2010. In 2011, he guest-starred as an old boyfriend of matriarch Nora Walker in
Brothers and Sisters and as an attorney, estranged from his son Jared Franklin in
Franklin & Bash. On January 3, 2012, Bridges took on the role of J.B. Biggley in the hit revival of the
Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, taking over for
John Larroquette. He was contracted to play the role until July 1, 2012; however, the revival closed on May 20, 2012. On October 3, 2013, Bridges became a major character on the CBS television show
The Millers. He plays Tom, the father of two children: son Nathan Miller (
Will Arnett) and daughter Debbie (
Jayma Mays). Tom, after forty-three years of marriage, has gotten divorced and has moved back in with his daughter, driving her crazy. Bridges joined the series in early March 2013. Bridges has had several roles in films since then, including
Underdog Kids and
Lawless Range in 2016. He has also had guest roles on the shows
Masters of Sex and
Code Black. In 2024, Bridges took the role of the managing partner (Howard ‘Senior’ Markeson) of the law firm (Jacobson Moore) where alias Maddy Matlock works in the new Matlock series. ==Awards==