Jeff Bridges Recalls Struggle with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma While ShootingThe Old Man: 'I Was in Surrender Mode' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jeff Bridges in season 2 of ‘The Old Man.'.Photo:FX

FX

Warning: This post contains spoilers from the season 2 finale of FX’sThe Old Man.

Jeff Bridges’ life-threatening health struggles didn’t get in the way of his powerhouse performance portraying a former CIA operative onThe Old Man.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, the actor, 74, discussed the show’s season 2 finale, which aired Thursday, Oct. 24, and reflected on the health obstacles he overcame during production of the FX drama.

“The whole plot, it just gets thicker andthicker,” Bridges, 74, tells PEOPLE, adding, “Dan, who has so-called saved his daughter now gets the tables flipped on him andshe’scapturing him basically. His world is being totally turned upside down.”

John Lithgow and Jeff Bridges in ‘The Old Man.'.FX

Bridges points to a valuable lesson he learned from real-life CIA operative Christopher Huddleston, whom the actor consulted for his complex role: a four-step decision-making model called OODA (Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act).

“The guy who can repeat those fastest kind of wins,” the actor explains. “So he’s [Dan] got a challenge of observing what’s happening. ‘My daughter, oh, she’s got these cards. What am I going to do? Am I going to run? I’ve got to decide. … And then act. And then do what you’ve decided to do and do it as quickly as possible. In this instance, he’s got to go with the flow.”

Onscreen, it looks as though Bridges has mostly gone with the flow — giving a knock-out performance as the multi-alias ex-spy onThe Old Manfor two seasons—but behind-the-scenes the actor bravely struggled with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer, which he publicly disclosed onXin October 2020.

After returning home from a trip to Montana in 2020 with his wife Susan Geston — months after filming intense fight scenes for season 1 ofThe Old Manand after the show went on hiatus due to COVID pandemic restrictions — a doctor’s check-up revealed he had a large stomach tumor.

Jeff Bridges in season 2 of ‘The Old Man.’.

Bridges underwent chemotherapy during the hiatus and evencontracted COVID, which further compromised his health. It was an extremely trying period the actor admits, leaving him wondering then whether he would live and whether he was “even going to do a season 2" ofThe Old Man.

“While I was sick, I thought I not only wouldn’t go back toThe Old Man, I thought I might just kick the bucket. It got down to that,” he acknowledges.

“I remember one doctor said, ‘You got to fight, Jeff. You’re notfighting,” Bridges adds. “And I had no idea what he was talking about. I was in surrender mode, just, ‘Everybody dies. This might be me doing that.’ And out of that surrender, like I say, all of this intense love surfaced, and maybe that’s what caused me to survive, I don’t know. But I didn’t relate to the fighting thing, more of a surrendering.”

Jeff Bridges in Los Angeles, California in September 2024.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

His treatments paired with intensive physical therapy also eventually helped Bridges get back to fighting form. With the help of a physical therapist, the two set a “little goal” for the actor to be healthy enough to walk his daughterHayley, 39, down the aisle for her wedding.

“I didn’t know how I could do that, but I said, ‘Well, let’s train. Let’s put that as our goal,’” he says. “So we worked on that. And turned out not only did I walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance with her. Then I’d rush to my table and put my oxygen on!”

Going into season 2 ofThe Old Man,Bridges’ tumor was reduced to the size of a marble, and now, with the season finale behind him, his oncologist emphasizes the actor has made remarkable progress.

“I don’t know the exact size of it. I get MRIs and all that down the line, but my oncologist says, ‘You’re looking good, man.’ And I get all my blood tests and everything and everything’s goingrealwell,” he says, adding that his “fascinating” health journey has taught him a few crucial lessons.

Taylor Hill/WireImage

“All of your strategies for life, how you work —allof those get heightened,” he continues. “And love, that’s the word that comes to mind. To see how much I love my family and my friends and the nurses and doctors that were caring for me, and how much love is coming at me. So it just exacerbated love, basically.”

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The Old Manis available to stream on Hulu.

source: people.com