Stephen Bridgewater (born Stephen Wesley Bridgewater, August 24, 1953, in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA) attended Hutchinson Community College and studied film at UCLA. He began as a professional radio broadcaster at age 14, working as the top morning disc jockey in Atlanta, Chicago, Knoxville, and Nashville until age 32, while also writing and acting in regional and national commercials. In 1987 he landed his first behind-the-scenes film job as a coach to Jeff Bridges for director Terry Gilliam, and has since worked as a drama coach for Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, and Orlando Bloom. He is also a producer, director, writer, and stunt performer, and is married to Jodie Gehrman Bridgewater (m. 1994). His notable film credits include Mississippi Burning (1988, with Gene Hackman and William Petersen), The Fisher King (1991, with Robin Williams and Madonna), Nowhere to Run (1993, with Jean-Claude van Damme), Forrest Gump (1994, dir. Robert Zemeckis, with Tom Hanks and Robin Wright), 12 Monkeys (1995, dir. Terry Gilliam, with Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, dir. Gilliam, with Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro), 21 Grams (2003, dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu, with del Toro, Kevin Spacey, and Naomi Watts), and Jimmy P. (2013, with del Toro).