![\"THE](\"https:\/\/weareactors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/The-Old-Man-FX.jpg\")
Both men are equally charming and likable but capable of dreadful acts of violence. Recent windower Dan Chase is CIA to the core and will do what he has to do when he is suddenly thrown into action again after decades of hiding away with his wife. That volatility makes \u201cThe Old Man\u201d compelling and unpredictable.<\/p>\n
Even before he got sick, Bridges had to deliver some strenuous stunts including a long-take fight scene at the start of the movie, directed by John Watts. He knew he was in good hands when he asked stunt coordinator Tim Connolly about the current state of the art. He showed him his movie \u201cAtomic Blonde.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always loved doing fights in action,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cIt\u2019s just, fun. And yes, along with that comes the feelings: \u2018Can I do it? Can I pull this off?\u2019 I hadn\u2019t done a fight scene for quite a while. I like what he did in \u2018The Old Man.’\u201d<\/p>\n
The fight reminded Lithgow of another that a much younger Bridges had executed in \u201cBad Company\u201d (1972). \u201cIt\u2019s the way life really is,\u201d said Lithgow, \u201cif you ever completely lose it. A tooth and claw a fight with somebody. That\u2019s what it looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
The essence of the series is that these two men often do bad things. \u201cThey are essentially good people who have attempted to do things, for all the right reasons, but there have been circumstances,\u201d said Lithgow. \u201cAnd the whole world of espionage and covert operations has forced them to do some appalling things, including some appalling things to each other. And they had a good friendship that got poisoned by circumstance. That\u2019s a great tension to set up, wouldn\u2019t you say? Jeff?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. And then they have a genuine, genuine love for each other,\u201d said Bridges, \u201cthat transcends all these obstacles that they have with each other. Something holds them together. There are so few people in our lives, if we\u2019re lucky, we have one or two that you could communicate and they know who you are, they know aspects of yourself that you\u2019re ashamed of or hide. And those relationships are so important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clearly Bridges is referring to both the characters they play and the friendship that grew when they finally did get to work together. \u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d Lithgow said. \u201cAnd the fact that you and I have hit it off so quickly, and we\u2019ve gone so deep in the short time that we\u2019ve gotten to know each other, it\u2019s made it a lot easier to play these parts. But it\u2019s also informed these parts. Without giving away anything to people who haven\u2019t seen the first season, one of these guys attempted to have the other one assassinated. And to tell a story in which you understand why this had to happen. And one character basically forgives the other, or at least accepts that it had to happen. You just don\u2019t see those stories very often.\u201d<\/p>\n It began to seem like they were never going to work together. Bridges was already experiencing for the first time the unknowns that come with shooting a series. \u201cUnlike a movie, it\u2019s more like life,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen. And in the filming that first season, when I got sick, I didn\u2019t think I was going to go back. I thought that I\u2019d be lucky just to live, let alone be well enough to go back to work. I didn\u2019t think I was going to do that. So that was just a complete surprise. When I was sick, I said, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s over, that dream of working with John, that\u2019s not going to happen. Man, I try to get used to that. And then life will say \u2018no, that\u2019s not the case.\u2019 Then it was like a dream, going back after two years of like a long, bizarre weekend, and I\u2019d see all the same faces and the cast and the crew.\u201d<\/p>\n When Bridges rejoined the series, the two actors embarked on an intense dialogue sequence where they cross the country in a car together. \u201cThank goodness Jeff could play this long, important, and essential scene, sitting in a car for six days,\u201d said Lithgow. \u201cBecause he was not 100 per cent. He was doing great. He was a good 80 per cent. But it was a relief to both of us that we could basically play a scene just like a one act play sitting in an automobile. We\u2019d waited two years for this to happen. And it was such a joy to be able to. Acting the scene was about one tenth of the time that we spent together in that car on that set. The rest of the time was just deeply getting to know each other. And it was the beginning of this perfectly wonderful friendship. And I don\u2019t think the series would have all the substance that it has without that friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n Clearly, with these two wily old pros, you can always expect to be surprised.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/weareactors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/The-Old-Man-Jeff-Bridges-FX.jpg\")