How New Disney Technology Made Jeff Bridges Young Again for ‘Tron: Legacy’

Disney’s much-hyped “Tron: Legacy” arrives in theaters starting December 17 and, aside from the mind-blowing special effects used to make it, another thing that’s getting a lot of attention is the technology used to “youngify” actor Jeff Bridges.

According to visual effects supervisor Eric Barba and Bridges himself, as cited by the Daily Mail, the technology was first used in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” but it was far from how elaborate it is today, in “Tron.”

In “Button,” Brad Pitt’s character ages backwards, which means the actor got to play himself for most part of the film: from old age to a very young version of himself.

This was achieved with the help of lots of makeup, prosthetics and CGI – in “Tron,” the technology is taken up a notch, even prompting talk of how it may offer ageing actors a chance at playing younger roles once more.

Jeff Bridges plays a double role in “Tron”: that of Kevin Flynn, Sam’s father, who is of the same age as the actor, and that of villain Clu 2.0, who bears a very eerie resemblance to how Bridges looked in the original “Tron” film.

That’s because he’s been youngified, Barba says in a recent interview. He’s the first actor to play opposite a younger version himself and many will soon follow suit.

“He is the first actor in cinematic history to play opposite a younger version of himself. This opens up the way for storytellers to tell more interesting tales — tales that couldn’t have been told before,” Barba says.

Bridges too sees in this new technology a chance for moviemakers and actors to tell a more believable story, something that wasn’t entirely possible until now – as regards the ageing process, that is.

“I love going to movies myself and whenever I see a big, epic film where the character has aged from being a boy to an old man, traditionally there are different actors playing him,” Bridges says in the same interview.

Different actors also played Clu 2.0 in “Tron,” in that they used a young man’s body to which they “pasted” a digitally altered to look younger head of Bridges.

“That’s always a little bump for me when they change from one actor to the next. But now... it’s gratifying to know that I can play myself or the character that I’m playing at any age. It’s really the beginning of a new era of film-making,” the actor adds.