Jeff Bridges offers well being replace, recollects filming struggle scenes with tumor

Jeff Bridges is again in motion after a well being scare.

The Massive Lebowski star will return to the small display in season 2 of FX’s The Previous Man, after being identified with lymphoma in 2020. He gave an replace on his well being throughout a Tv Critics Affiliation Summer time Press Tour occasion Wednesday selling the sequence.

“I’m feeling nice now,” Bridges stated throughout a panel Wednesday. “What’s so weird, to me anyway, within the first season once I was doing these struggle scenes, I had a 9-inch by 12-inch tumor in my physique, in my abdomen, that didn’t harm in any respect. In order that’s shocking to me.”

Bridges introduced that his most cancers was in remission in September 2021.  “The 9″ x 12” mass has shrunk all the way down to the dimensions of a marble,” he stated in an replace on his web site.

The actor, who has printed two books of his on-set pictures, famous on the TCA occasion that he hasn’t had as a lot time for his interest since his prognosis. “I went via this sickness, and since then I haven’t picked up my digital camera as a lot as I used to,” he stated. 

He additionally joked that it wasn’t a lot of a stretch for him to painting the aged protagonist of the espionage sequence, former CIA agent Dan Chase.

“I’m an previous man, I don’t should play it,” he stated. “I carry that to the celebration with none hassle.”

Bridges additionally mentioned his relationship together with his costar John Lithgow, who was additionally a part of the panel and performs former FBI Assistant Director Harold Harper within the sequence.

“One of many issues that now we have a lot enjoyable speaking about is our upbringing is comparable. We’re each, you already know, second era from actors, our fathers. And we strategy it the identical approach. You recognize there are a number of actors who, you already know, ‘Please, solely name me by my character’s identify and let’s not have any contact. And we each work form of 180 from that. We each actually prefer to get to know one another since we’re taking part in previous buddies within the present, so we let that — you already know, ‘Let’s be buddies,'” he stated. “‘Let’s get to know one another and let’s do it quick and form of aggressively.’”

Bridges went on to recall an amusing anecdote about his time bonding with Lithgow. “I keep in mind we had this lengthy scene in a automobile, and we have been doing what we’re speaking about right here,” he stated. “And our mics are on and this occurs, that is form of a basic factor that occurs in films: You don’t notice that all people on this crew is listening to every little thing you’re saying to one another.”

Lithgow famous that he has no issues about Bridges’ talents to carry out within the wake of his sickness.

“No, I by no means fear about Jeff,” he stated. “I at all times knew he wouldn’t be right here if he didn’t know he may do that. And it’s been one of many nice and intensely shifting type of backstage dramas of these 4 years. His braveness and persistence and his unbelievable philosophical nature, the way in which — no person may’ve survived what he’s been via and going again to work the way in which he’s gone again to work. It’s been extremely inspiring.”

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The third Rock from the Solar star additionally stated that the excellence between two actors’ performing kinds makes their collaboration sing.

“We’re very completely different actors… that’s a part of what’s so attention-grabbing about placing us collectively,” he stated. “I’m far more a theater actor who’s needed to tone it all the way down to work in entrance of a digital camera, and Jeff has a protracted, lengthy historical past — he’s completely our biggest actor of his era appearing in entrance of a digital camera. I feel it’s a really attention-grabbing mixture.”

The Previous Man season 2 sees Chase and Harper set off to get well Chase’s kidnapped daughter Emily (Alia Shawkat). The sequence, primarily based on the bestselling novel of the identical identify by Thomas Perry, is created for tv by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine. The brand new season premieres with the primary two of eight episodes on September 12 on FX.

Reporting by Debbie Day.