THE BIG LEBOWSKI - BRIDGES BACK INTO SURFING THANKS TO PENGUIN MOVIE

BRIDGES BACK INTO SURFING THANKS TO PENGUIN MOVIE

THE BIG LEBOWSKI star JEFF BRIDGES has ventured back into the ocean after his role as a penguin in Surf's Up helped him to overcome his water fears. The 57-year-old actor voices the character of The Big Z in the new animated movie and admits the film has reawakened his passion for surfing after quitting the sport - because it made him feel cold and miserable. He explains, "I used to surf when I was in high school back in the 60s... and then in my early 20s I kind of gave up on it. "I'm back into it again now and I think one of the reasons I put it off for so long is I don't like to be uncomfortable. I don't like to be cold and shivering in the ocean. "As a matter of fact, my first acting memory was being thrown off the Malibu (California) pier during (TV show) Sea Hunt and not being able to catch my breath, so there's something about cold ocean water that kind of freaks me out. "I thought that was gonna be a problem to get back into it, but wetsuits today are so well made, and so thin you hardly feel like you have it on, and it handles the temperature so beautifully."