I'm 75 years-old now and I've seen many of Bruce Dern's movies and t.v. appearances. He is one of the finest actors I have ever seen. The guy makes any part a must see.
Bruce is one of the most underrated actors, probably because he took so many acting jobs early in his career. I remember him in a lot of westerns like Gunsmoke. I always liked him, even as a bad guy, probably because he was so convincing in the role.
Besides being humble, he is also very intelligent and insightful. He also knew how to send himself up. One of my favorite Bruce Dern roles was a parody of his Western villain in "Support Your Local Sheriff" starring James Garner.
Dern's enthusiastic summation of how he psyches himself up to do the best job in a scene is more informative than 10 episodes of 'Inside the Actor's Studio.' Masterful.
Bruce Dern is one of the best actors in both t.v. and movies. The man is a class act. I'm a disabled Vietnam Veteran, having served there with the army in 1969. The part Bruce played in 'Coming Home' was special to many of us. He hit it out of the park.
@@franksmith7247 Laura has always been a naturally talented actor even in her earliest roles. Both her parents are as well but actually rare that all 3 would be!
Just seen him in 1968’s Hang Em High with Clint Eastwood and also he did a Land Of The Giants episode from 1970, he costarred in the episode with Yvonne Craig who was Batgirl! Bruce Dern is a gem!
I admire actors who are considered " character actors " simply because they are better and more flexible actors than leading men who rely too much on their looks. Bruce Dern is a great actor and has great range. I saw most of his movies and always admired his work. He's an unsung hero of Hollywood, and a great artist.
I'm a late to appreciate Bruce Dern fan. I first really became a fan watching him on Big Love. Now I watch every interview I can find of him! He's so good and interesting to hear him talk
•••• _IT IS BECAUSE OF_ ... "Silent Running' (1971 - dir. Douglas Trumbull and starring Bruce Dern) that I knew my life, my career was to be as a screenwriter, a director in the movies, TV & commercials. In the mid-80's I was truly fortunate in my journey to work for Doug Trumbull at ShowScan as an assistant editor. There's more, but I won't bore you with them. In short, follow what you love. Dreams do come true if you fight for them. D.A. ps" 'D.B. COOPER' oddly enough is the nom de plume I use sometimes as a cinematographer when I don't my 'thunder' as a commercial director to knock that person off their chance as a director.
DB Cooper- CONCIOUS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES?!! LMAO!!! So, you've given up using fossil fuels, living off grid and traded your car for a horse? Because otherwise.....you're just another left wing phony.
Dick Cavett, one of the most amazing talkshows ever. So intelligent and so interesting. It was a show that was canceled at it’s peak as it was deemed too intelligent for the average audience.
Always liked Cavett as an interviewer going back to the 70's. He brings out the best in his guests. Good interview. The one with Richard Burton was the best interview with an actor ever.
Cavett's wife for decades (till her death) was Carrie Nye who was an excellent staple actor in many Broadway shows. Cavett's interest in actors and acting was very personal, though he never brought it up.
I also liked when Dick got in jokes at his own expense. Such as here when he says that Jon Voight got the lead in 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Deliverance' only because he (Dick) had 'turned those parts down.' 😊
Interesting. I just watched him do an interview with Rex Stout, the author of the Nero Wolfe books. The great TV series of Nero Wolfe (A Nero Wolfe Mystery) was cancelled after only two years and 27 episodes for the same reason.
I've always loved Bruce Dern. I think he's great and to me he's always seemed like he just stepped out of 1870's old west. He plays one heckuva cowboy but his presence in any movie makes it that much better.
Finally an a great actor who can articulate beautifully. He makes absolute sense about the business aspects and the artistic situations and so forth. Others may have thought he wasn’t lead material but whenever I saw him he was the lead to me. It’s a lot more interesting to see a character go through other things rather then just trying to get the girl.
Bruce’s daughter said she worshipped her father. She wanted to play crazy evil women and she was so feminine and smart they cast her in very interesting rolls.
@@gracieg7601 With Bruce as her dad and Diane Ladd as her mom, Laura Dern definitely had that great head start. Of course, she evolved into a terrific actor, with her own hard work and dedication. I've been a big fan of Bruce Dern, since I was a kid. No matter the size of the roll, he always 'brought the goods'. 👍 Also, he should've won the damn award for Nebraska!
I've never seen this interview and found it fascinating. Initially it's easy to think Bruce Dern seems to spend a lot of time feeling sorry for himself and harbouring grudges, but watching the interview all the way through, he really is a totally straight up guy who explains things as they are and leaves you the viewer to decide what they think. He educates us outsiders into the way the movie industry really does work, about how lots of people like him were young idealists who acted and performed out of principles they strongly believed in, but later, as he said, you realize it's just as much a business. Fascinating guy, excellent interview.
Absolutely. It is a business; the art is the stuff they feed us outsiders. This is a corporate, cold, cutthroat business that pretends to be something else.
I guess he’s always been a refreshingly honest guy. And it’s really interesting to hear an established movie actor talk in detail about the importance of agents.
Amazing interview, thank you for posting. What I very much admire about Bruce Dern is that he is honest. In interviews he will talk freely with no pretence.. and say it like it is with passion. What a great guy!
i concur whole heartedly........i don't care for these kind of shows simply for the fact that no one is ever really honest.........this guy dern just changed my mind, but only because of his honesty..........i really didn't like him in the COWBOYS and thought i didn't like him, but i was wrong,,,,,,,it's just that he did such a good job of being evil, i fell for it, but he seems like a real guy.........
As a boy, I remembered Bruce typecast in smart-ass/ Jackass type characters (Hang Em High, Support Your Local Sheriff) + psychos but Bruce Dern was memorable and he made you smile. The sixties were unstable times and he ended up as a 'Wild Angel' and in psychedelia genre films back then totally missing 'leading man' roles. Daughter, Laura rekindled her dad later. Great interview, Kudos Dick Cavett!
Bruce's characters stay in my memory more than any of those Stars he was envious of and his daughter Laura is testament that she came from wonderful parents.Whuch says even more about his character.
Finally, how refreshing to hear an "A" List movie star tell it like it is. Bruce Dern doesn't hold anything back, he doesn't speak in platitudes or cryptic messages.
He used to do a lot of westerns, both TV and film, and they'd always have him say "Boy" condescendingly to someone. Something like, "Now you do what I tell ya boy" Nobody could call someone 'boy' like Bruce Dern.
One of my favorite interviews here at YT ! THANKS so much for uploading ! Mr Dern has been one of my fave actors for many many years. Grew up watching him in films & TV in the 60's. I don't think I've ever seen him interviewed at such length before. A very intelligent, perceptive & articulate fellow ! And of course one helluva actor !! :-)
I remember seeing "Silent Running" in my late teens and was astonished by my immediate reaction seeing Bruce Dern as the lead. Sitting in the darkened theater watching the opening credits, I realized for the first time how much over the years I had subconsciously wanted to see Dern as Commander-in-Chief of a feature-length movie, and was so excited he would be with me for the next hour-and-a-half.
Dern's type of observations and confessions rarely get aired. It takes nerve to admit to bitterness and envy. His lesson is important to ponder. You need the right people pushing for you. He admits he was too idealistic but he did eventually understand it IS showbusiness.
I always thought he was a great actor, any time I saw him I love way he worked , always liked the way, when you think got away with it, this man would call to remind you of your shit.. he is very truthful. A brilliant actor.
The fine actor A, Martinez from the movie The Cowboys sent me here. Bruce always worked with such an honesty that you didn't believe he was acting the part. That is true craft and art.
Wow. Never seen a sit down, serious interview with Bruce Dern. Love him. Two things came up: Shooting John Wayne in The Cowboys. Unforgettable. The nerd in Silent Running. Pushed my emotions into a new place.
The Dick Cavett Show was and still is the BEST TALK SHOW ever on television. In this interview imagine the actor who is incredibly articulate, straightforward and honest. The fastest 20 minutes you will ever see.
Bruce Dern was a marvelous actor. You " believed " who he was in his various parts. As the villian you hated him, as the ordinary joe you related to him, but I will say at the end of the movie Coming Home I shed tears for him when after the full knowledge of the affair between his wife and the person she was involved with { portrayed by John Voigt } as he was coming home from the war in Vietnam, he ran off into the Pacific Ocean to commit suicide......over the loss of love and fidelity from his wife.......OH MAN what a poignant scene, and very well acted by Bruce !!!!
First saw him in "The Wild Angels" with Peter Fonda. Good acting as a badass biker. Excellent acting in "The Cowboys". He has a way of putting himself in character that few actors can. A top notch superb actor!
I just found out that he grew up in Winnetka and graduated from New Trier. His family owned a very well-to-do store called Carson Pirie Scott. That’s where I grew up many decades later but that’s so cool cuz he’s so cool!!
Fantastic interview! One of the best I've seen on the craft (and business) of acting and the Hollywood system. Dern calls it as he sees it, and it's fascinating to listen to.
Excellent conversation. Dern really has earned his chops. A library of great parts. Great that Tarantino still uses him, but give him some better parts, man! Dern always raises every project a few notches. A true American original.
Heard about Bruce Dern from an extra, who worked in "Last Man standing." He said about him, "He usually plays an awful person in films, but when he's on the set he was very nice to everyone. He's a real nice guy." I read Kirk Douglas' autobiography and that's what he said about him as well.
This guy is an amazing actor. All the other stars he mentioned that got the lead roles before him couldn’t hold a candle to him when it comes to acting. A lead man to me is someone that holds your attention for 2 hours and Bruce sticks to my eyes like glue. I never saw him acting is an understatement when it comes to Bruce.
As a professional actor myself, I feel that you can be the lead without being the lead, per se. He was the lead in my opinion, in "Coming Home", though it wasn't considered the leading role. And in "The Great Gatsby", he shared the lead with Redford. Just saying.
Great interview - Bruce Dern is a Legend and always has been a great actor. Any western from the 1960's he was in . The fugitive was another show that he was in. Family Plot gave him his leading role and boy did he do great in that film.One of my favorites was The Two Headed ? Something Brain or Monster , he was with Pat Priest ( The Munsters TV show ). This guy was always working and did a great job in all his roles. Thanks Bruce. And your Daughter is a wonderful Actress as well.
It was 1972 - I went to the movies to see "The Cowboys" (I was 10) His character scared the hell out of me - first time I can remember that happening at the movies.
I have a newfound respect for Bruce Durn. I always loved his acting, but now I know how hard he worked to get where he is now! I take back all the bad things I have said about him!
Totally absorbing interview. Scintillatingly honest by Bruce Dern....I remember him from Silent Running especially. His desire to become an artist true to his inner self and the art form he had chosen is very touching....perhaps he was naïve but probably more just beautifully innocent and full of a wholesome desire to surrender himself to the art form. I like people like that. People that have no agenda...but who may in time see that their integrity for the art form hasn't actually worked for them when others have achieved greater 'success' by being less concerned in being true to their craft. Such is the way of the world. Sometimes the world appears to be a practical joke made at the expense of well meaning people.
This is a great interview (and I'm not too big on Cavett's interviewing style), but getting to know Bruce here is great. This should be a "must see" for all aspiring actors! .
I've always liked Bruce Dern, and try not to miss any of his performances. This was an intense and very interesting discussion. I particularly enjoyed what he said about John Wayne.
