Jeff Bridges’ ‘Crazy Heart’ Character Was 5th Highwayman?

Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings inspired countless artists in their day, and they continue to do so. Actor Jeff Bridges, who's receiving rave reviews as Bad Blake -- a washed-up country singer in the film 'Crazy Heart,' tells the Philadelphia Daily News there are parts of Willie, Waylon, and the boys in Blake.

"One of the directions that the director Scott Cooper gave me was to think of the Highwaymen -- Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson -- and to think that, in our alternate universe, Bad Blake would have been the fifth Highwayman," says Bridges. "All of those guys and other people went into it -- Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan."

Moviegoers will notice that Bridges borrowed longtime buddy Kris Kristofferson's look for the film as well, something he and Kris laughed about. "He really, really got a kick out of it," says the actor. "He said, 'You look just like me, man!' We laughed and looked in the mirror and said, 'We got to play brothers in a movie!'"

Jeff Bridges, who just won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, is considered a front-runner for the Academy Award.