Jeff Bridges spans age gap with technology

London: Jeff Bridges is all set to play a younger version of himself with the help of a new computer technology that will enable the 60-year-old Oscar-winner to reverse his age by three decades onscreen.

The new technology has made it possible for makers of the film to record the actor`s facial movements in minute detail and then superimpose them onto a digital model of his younger self in `TRON: Legacy`, a 3D Walt Disney production released next month. Bridges starred in the original film 28 years ago and has now revived the role of video games developer Kevin Flynn, who gets trapped in a cyber universe for 20 years, the Sunday Times reported. Visual effects supervisor Eric Barba said that the new technology makes it look like that the younger version of Bridges is on screen. "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," he said. Bridges, who picked up an Academy Award for last year`s `Crazy Heart`, said the development marked "a new era of film-making." "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," he said. "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 the character myself at any age. It`s really the beginning of a new era of film-making." To simulate a younger man`s gait, Bridges` digital head was planted onto a younger body double that shot the same scenes as the veteran star, repeating his movements. As well as allowing actors to play younger versions of themselves, the programme will also let them grow old gracefully. The technology was first used in `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button` starring Brad Pitt. PTI