Jeff Bridges Dropped from Hyundai's Oscars Ads

Crazy Heart actor will return after Oscars.

Jeff Bridges will be at the Academy Awards as a nominee for best actor, but he won't be heard during the commercials. Car maker Hyundai has announced it is temporarily replacing Bridges' voice in its ads due to Oscar rules.

According to the Academy of Motion Pictures' rules, nominees and award presenters are not allowed to be in commercials that air during the Academy Awards ceremony.

That means Hyundai will be replacing Jeff Bridges' voice, which has appeared in its car commercials since 2007, with a list of guest celebrities. They include Kim Basinger, David Duchovny, Catherine Keener, Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Madsen, Mandy Patinkin and Martin Sheen.

Of course, Bridges will probably get his job back once the awards are over. "We'll be happy to return to our normal casting after the show," said a Hyundai spokesman.

Bridges is nominated at this year's Academy Awards for his performance in Crazy Heart. Bridges plays Bad Blake, a has-been country music star in the midst of a downward spiral, when he meets a journalist interested in his story.