How tall is Bruce Dern

Sandy Cowell said on 12/Dec/22
Not to me it didn’t, Rob! He looked around 5ft7 when introduced Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Sandy Cowell said on 11/Dec/22
Bruce gives an amazing, yet scary performance in the film Freaks. No, it isn’t a remake of the old one, but centres round a 7-year-old girl with powers, which her Dad has as well. Bruce plays the grandfather.

Just how deep and dangerous these powers are I have yet to find out, as I’m no way through even half of this movie.

Bruce is stooping because it’s hard to believe he’s nearly 5ft11. He has enormous, freaky blue eyes and his facial expressions get more alarming as the film progresses.

I didn’t know whether I’d like this film, but I do. It’s totally original. The powers possessed by the father and daughter aren’t anything like those from the father and daughter in Stephen King’s Firestarter.

It’ll be interesting to find out how they got them.

6ft1 peak and 5ft10.75 today.

Terry said on 23/Sep/22
First saw him in The Cowboys movie and he plays bad guys really well doesnt he? He did not look much shorter that 6'5 John Wayne. About 6'1 peak is right.

Sinclair said on 19/Jul/22
He seemed as tall as if not taller than Walter Matthau in The Laughing Policeman. Posture had a part to play, but I would still hesitate going under 6’1” for Dern. An easy 6’1”, possibly 6’1.25” peak.

Jtm said on 30/Oct/21
looks like he was over 6'0 after all but this makes jack nicholson's listing even more unlikely than i suspected for so long. go watch the king of marvin gardens. that definitely rules out 5'9-5'10 for nicholson.

Ian C. said on 15/Oct/21
Dern is can currently be seen in Season 4 of the Prime series Goliath, which he made when he was 84. He is now unable to stand erect, or walk without a cane, but he delivers complex dialogue with perfect conviction, and is in fact his usual excellent, if slightly unhinged, self. If he has suffered any loss of mental function with age, it isn't apparent.

In youth and middle age, Dern was unusually strong, and would habitually run thousands of miles in any given year. Now he's crippled. The tragedy, as Oscar Wilde once said, is not that we grow old but that we are young. (Something like that. I'm too lazy to look it up for the exact wording right now.)

This is a particularly cruel effect of age in many people: You get to keep your understanding of the world, but your body falls apart and becomes, having once been a source of pride and pleasure, a broken, misshapen thing that constantly hurts, and must be kept at bay with drugs and surgery.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 29/Jun/21
Similar frame to Murray or Djokovic...long limbed. A

Arch Stanton said on 9/May/20
Yes he was built like a tennis pro, lean muscle, thin but strong.

Nik said on 8/May/20
It's interesting that he is just over an inch taller than his daughter Laura!

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 5/May/20
He stacked up well next to Eastwood and Wayne...I now think no less than 6ft1 in his youth...and also he wasn't a small-framed guy. Lean but well-built...

In old movies he reminds me a lot of Michael Bay...similar height and build.

Ian C. said on 28/Jan/20
Dern was tall and strong enough in youth to have a credible movie brawl with Clint Eastwood in Hang 'Em High. You watch that and you don't think, why is Clint beating up on that skinny, whiny guy.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Dec/19
I didn't know that Ian, Dern did always look skinny and thin of face, explains it I guess. He looked like a tennis player type too. Laura Dern also looks the type who would run a lot.

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 6/Nov/19
@ Ian C - That is seriously interesting, Ian. My older brother used be a compulsive runner, and many a week he exceeded 100 miles. He does have pains in his legs/feet as a direct result, but he hasn't lost any height at 60.

I, on the other hand, started losing height after a fall in the black ice, which resulted in back injuries. What probably didn't help my ability to recover very well is that I grew up on a deliberately poor diet, in order to keep my weight as low as possible. Little did I know that it would have a long-term effect on my eventual height and then, later on, hasten the height-loss process.

Mind you, it's NEVER too late to start taking care of your nutritional needs, to minimize any further height-loss. It's a shame that in one's young years, one simply doesn't tend to think about the future.... 🤷‍♀️❓😕

Bruce's peak - 6ft1
Now - 5ft10.75

Ian C. said on 4/Nov/19
Dern's loss of height may have been exacerbated by compulsive running. He was a marathoner of note, and sometimes logged a hundred miles a week. In his fifties he became addicted to pain medication, to deal with damage caused by all that running.

mrbobh said on 9/Jul/19
watching him right now on the Tonight Show with Carson from March 2nd, 1978. He's wearing very flat slip on loafers... and has just greeted Ed M. There appears to be no more than 1 1/2" difference in their heights. I think 6' 1" was spot on. Their ages were 55 and 42.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 6/Apr/19
Animus, but prime at least 2in taller

Animus said on 1/Oct/18
Yeah, he's close to Matthew McConaughey these days.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 23/May/18
He actually looks 6ft2 range beside Hanks in The Burbs and taller than Rick Ducummon (who coincidentally is listed here as 6ft2). I don't know if maybe lifts were involved though...

Arch Stanton said on 16/Dec/17
Not "back" haha but thanks. Just saw the film and remembered us debating whether he was really 6 ft 1 peak and seeing him with Hanks I had to say something! Have a great Christmas Sandy!

Sandy Cowell said on 15/Dec/17
🌟WELCOME BACK ARCH STANTON!🌟

Hooray! It's wonderful to have you back! 👏


Bruce can have 5ft10.75, and for his peak, 6ft1.

Arch Stanton said on 14/Dec/17
In The Burbs Dern was easily an inch taller than Tom Hanks, in some scenes nearer two. I think the upgrade peak is a good call overall. He looked 6'1.5 with Hanks.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 24/Nov/17
Arch, I'd say Wayne had lost a bit by that stage

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 24/Nov/17
5ft9 is ridiculous. He might still hit 5ft11 though

anyonmious said on 4/Sep/17
bruce dern is probably 5'9 right now

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 3/Sep/17
Shocked he's lost that much considering he never drank or smoked....6ft1 peak is a fair shout

Charlie said on 19/Mar/17
Laura Dern is listed 5 ft 10 so in heels she would be 6.0 ft.Bruce looks 3 inches shorter than his daughter Laura so i will guess Bruce is 5 ft 9.

MisterD said on 14/Jul/16
Looked 2" taller than Tom Hanks in the Burbs'

Sam said on 19/May/15
Rob, could you add They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Black Sunday and Coming Home to his credits?

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 11/Mar/15
6ft1 peak isn't impossible

Arch Stanton said on 11/Feb/15
He was great in the 70s especially, a real outcast/creepy demeanor. Seeing him in The Cowboys I think he'd have been awesome in a Dirty Harry film. He could have played the killer in the original Dirty Harry easily as well as the other guy I reckon.

Arch Stanton said on 11/Feb/15
In The Cowboys he held his own well with John Wayne, in fact he pulled off looking only about 2 inches shorter.

Sam said on 17/Nov/14
Dern with 6'2.5" listed Peter Fonda, looks around six feet IMO.
Click Here
Funny to read Dern talk about Fonda and how he became fed up w/ Peter. To Fonda acting was a "lark", that he didn't work hard and intensely like Dern and in Dern's opinion Fonda wasn't a "real actor".

jtm said on 15/Nov/14
more convince than ever nicholson was even 5'9.

Sam said on 11/Nov/14
At times in The King of Marvin Gardens, Dern looks closer to 4 inches than 3 inches taller than Jack Nicholson.
Click Here

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 7/Oct/14
Aged 67, Arch?

I don't know about that

Arch Stanton said on 6/Oct/14
In Monster Dern looked about 2.5 inches taller than Charlize Theron, presumably he was still near peak then. He was looking about 184 in comparison.

JAC said on 22/Jul/14
In the movie, The Posse, he appears to be considerably taller than Kirk Douglas. I would say several inches (3 maybe 4). In the Cowboys where he is standing and talking with John Wayne, he looks to be about as tall as John Wayne. Am I wrong about that? He did seem like a tall man in his prime, but has shrunk considerably. He is considerably shorter than his daughter, who is 5' 10.5", when she is in heels. I would say no more than 5' 10" now.

Arch Stanton said on 25/May/14
He did look a bit too lanky in the 70s really to be only 6 ft flat. To the casual eye he seemed a few inches taller than that but it was seeing him in They Shoot Horses, Don't They next to 6'5.5 Michael Conrad and 6'2" Sarrazin which made him look max 184.

Arch Stanton said on 19/May/14
Rob can you add Family Plot, Hitchcock's last film? Described as "tall and thin" in the film.

Arch Stanton said on 2/Apr/14
Mm 6'2" listed Michael Sarrazin looked easily 2 inches taller though...

Arch Stanton said on 2/Apr/14
Looks 6'1" in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

Sam said on 13/Mar/14
Yeah, I would have guessed him at around six foot even at peak, although he could have edged over it at peak. Will Forte's 5'9" listing seems to indicate that Dern is not over 5'10.5" these days.

Arch Stanton said on 11/Mar/14
Oh yeah I'd forgotten he was in Hang em High! As I say I think 6'0.5" is a fair listing and he could often look a full 6'1. If I had to go for a full inch height I'd lean more on 6'1. This is a good shout though don't you think Sam as he could look nearer 6' at times.

Sam said on 10/Mar/14
As listed at peak here, looking several inches taller than Robert Downey Jr. and Kiefer Sutherland.
Click Here

Sam said on 10/Mar/14
Thanks for the addition Rob. I think he generally looks a strong six foot at peak. He was a pretty lanky looking guy at peak. He looked about 3 inches shorter than Clint Eastwood I thought in Hang Em High.

Arch Stanton said on 9/Mar/14
He looks pretty tall in Silent Running. He could have passed for 6'1" peak put it that way.

Arch Stanton said on 7/Mar/14
Watch the film though, Dern really looked a good 3 inches taller. Even at a weak 5'10" for Redford Dern looked 185cm. I think 184 is fair.

jtm said on 7/Mar/14
Redford is leaning a little

he is also closer to the camera and i think redford was a weak 5'10.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
He could look both 6'1" and 6'0 from films I've seen him in, I think 6'0.5" is a reasonable compromise.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
Rob, can't find anything online of Gatsby aside from this very brief comparison at 1:10 pause Click Here Redford is leaning a little but you can see that Dern looked considerably taller. He really looked a solid 6'1" in The Great Gatbsy next to Redford I thought. I'll try to see some more of his more obscure movies over the next few days and try to state some more comparisons.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
Click Here

Today Dern is barely taller than Redford. He's lost a lot more height even though they're a similar age.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
@Jtm. He looked a good 3 inches taller than Robert Redford in the Great Gatsby.

jtm said on 6/Mar/14
i think 183cm peak is mre accurate.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
I'd say he's well known for The Great Gatsby among those Rob too.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
Granted Jane Fonda could look near 5'10" in heels but he didn't really look much over 6ft next to her in Coming Home. He was a skinny guy peak and could look taller but I think 184 is about right. He was at least 2 inches shorter than Peter Fonda in The Wild Angels.

Arch Stanton said on 6/Mar/14
Nice one Rob. Yeha I think that's about right now 180 if he stood his best toay. He did look quite tall still actually in Nebraska.