You wouldn't have to look much farther than the Sunset Strip to find one of film's top leading men. And he's not a television super hero or a reluctant theater actor just in it for the money.

Jeff Bridges comes from a long line of movie actors--or at least as long a line as that business usually allows.It was both his father, Lloyd, and his big brother, Beau, who first taught Bridges not only about acting, but about life. His father put him on his TV series "Sea Hunt" when Jeff was just starting out. And Beau used to help him prepare his scenes.

But Jeff Bridges has parlayed that beginning into a major career with an Oscar nomination in 1971 for "The Last Picture Show" and subsequent stunning performances in "Starman," "Against All Odds" and "Jagged Edge."

Today he is dressed in a double-breasted gray suit with pleated pants and a white dress shirt. He looks like a movie star, with a golden tan and streaked blond hair. But he talks like a guy who could change your sparkplugs, steer you to the best book on songwriting or give you sound advice on parenting.

The worst thing about the business he chose 20 years ago is the time he must spend away from his family, Bridges says. "I was gone eight months out of the year last year. It's really terrible. Really awful. I'm trying to figure out a way to include my family more in my work."

He has been filming "Texasville" in Texas the past few weeks. The movie is director Peter Bogdanovich's sequel to "The Last Picture Show," with all of the original cast reviving their roles.

"I'd like to take my girls there with me," Bridges says. "But we're working six-day weeks, 14 hours a day and so to have them down in this 104-degree weather just so I'll be able to tuck them in at night - to me it's worth it, but I'm not sure it's fair on their side to take them away from all their friends . . . "

Bridges has three daughters, 8, 6 and 4 years old. He has been married for 12 years.

Having children also changed him. "It gives you a whole new perspective on life and you realize what sex is all about - puts a whole spin on that," he says.

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Bridges, 39, has come a long way since the `70s when he was dabbling in drugs and challenging authority. "You experience it and it's a tough world," Bridges says of the drug scene. "It's hard on your body."

Bridges has since become more interested in the spiritual side of life, though he doesn't espouse any particular discipline.

"I believe a little here and a little there, it's all basically the same."

It's clear that his parents' long marriage and their close-knit family have served as inspiration for both Beau and Jeff. And Jeff finds little difference between him and his brother. "We approach life and acting in a similar way," Bridges says.

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