Jeff Bridges Reveals His Retirement Plans
Jeff Bridges says that his cancer is in remission and The Old Man star has no immediate plans to retire
Jeff Bridges announced to the public in October 2020 that he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma, and his future as an actor seemed uncertain. Approximately a year later, after undergoing numerous chemo treatments, the Tron star announced that his cancer was in remission. The Academy Award-winning actor now stars on the highly acclaimed FX series The Old Man, and according to MovieWeb, he has no intention of retiring any time soon.
In a recent interview with Variety, the outlet noted that the character Jeff Bridges portrays on the FX show is a retired CIA operative and asked the industry veteran if he ever planned to retire. He responded by saying, “You know, my dad he worked right up to the very end. I don’t know, I’m just leaving that up to the way it works out.”
The Old Man is the first role for Jeff Bridges following his battle with lymphoma two years ago. Before that, the actor hadn’t had an on-screen role since 2018’s Bad Times at the El Royale. The first season of the action-thriller drama series concluded July 21st and all episodes are currently available to stream on Hulu.
Jeff Bridges told Variety that he was originally reluctant to do television projects due to his father’s extensive work on TV shows and his being frustrated with how fast the shows were filmed. He mentioned that his father didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t pay as much attention to detail while shooting a TV show as he could with motion pictures.
After realizing the vast amount of incredible content being released these days, the Iron Man star decided television work was something he’d like to explore, and he now headlines one of the most critically acclaimed shows on air.
Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Thomas Perry, The Old Man follows a former CIA operative (Jeff Bridges) who’s living off the grid and finds himself pursued by people out to kill him. Developed by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine, and also featuring stars John Lithgow, Bill Heck, and E.J. Bonilla, the series premiered on FX on June 16, 2022. The first season consists of seven episodes, and the network has renewed the show for a second season.
Jeff Bridges comes from a family of actors, appearing alongside his father, Lloyd Bridges, and brother, Beau Bridges, on the television series Sea Hunt from 1958 to 1960. He’s had roles in several high-profile projects including True Grit (2010), Hell or High Water, Tron, Iron Man, and King Kong.
He received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as an alcoholic musician in the 2009 movie Crazy Heart, where he starred alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and James Keane.
Looking ahead, Jeff Bridges doesn’t have any projects in development aside from the forthcoming second season of The Old Man, which is currently without a release date. Having portrayed the prominent character of Sam Flynn in Disney’s Tron franchise, it’s possible he may return in Tron 3, with the sequel reportedly in development after multiple delays.
We’re just glad the 72-year-old actor is back to business as usual following his battle with cancer, and it doesn’t appear that he’s missed a beat.
