Stars Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow talk finally getting to share the screen in season two of their septuagenarian espionage thriller
Two years have passed since the first season of The Old Man came to its dramatic conclusion — or, rather, ended in a cliffhanger that would leave viewers on knife’s edge for longer than intended. The 2023 Hollywood strikes delayed the second season of the espionage thriller, but former CIA agent Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges) and his frenemy, FBI assistant director Harold Harper (John Lithgow) are finally back, this time united in their joint mission to save the woman they both consider their daughter.
Having been kidnapped by powerful Afghan tribal leader Faraz Hamzad (Navid Negahban), Emily Chase’s (Alia Shawkat) daddy count rose to three in the season finale. For Chase’s only child, whose identities already include the alias FBI agent Angela Adams, discovering that her biological father is her parents’ lifelong nemesis could have dire implications, unless septuagenarians Dan and Harold can come to her rescue in time.
While the tension is rising to a series high on screen, behind the scenes things have never been better for new pals Bridges and Lithgow. After almost a full season of communicating tersely over the phone, their characters are now collaborating — and bickering — in person. “When we did get to work together, oh, it was wonderful,” says Bridges. “We had a ball.” Adds Lithgow: “It is true, the first season there was a terrific frustration: ‘I so want to work with Jeff,’” he reflects. “And there is an abundance of it in the second season.”
The two actors, who have gotten to know each other better through this project, hail from a similar school of acting. “One of the things that we have so much fun talking about is our upbringing. We’re both second generation from actors,” says Bridges. “And we approach it the same way. There are a lot of actors who [say], ‘Please, only call me by my character’s name, and let’s not have any contact.’ We both really like to get to know each other since we’re playing old friends in the show. Like, ‘Let’s get to know each other and let’s do it fast and kind of aggressively.’”
While there are comedic beats to be mined out of having two men on the cusp of retirement lead the charge, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau these two are not. “It’s a very unusual series featuring two old men. The only other paradigm I can think of is Grumpy Old Men and that’s not us,” says Lithgow. “It’s old men whose lives are haunted by demons, by old memories, old regrets, things they wished they’d done differently and things they know they did wrong. They have a very intense relationship.”
For Lithgow, playing against Bridges makes his work easier, according to the 77-year-old. This is, in part, because it’s Bridges who takes the physical brunt of the gig. “Some of the greatest scenes in The Old Man are Jeff’s fight scenes, an old man having to summon up the strength and skill he had 50 years ago,” says Lithgow, who is confident in his colleague’s stamina. “I never worry about Jeff. I always knew he wouldn’t be here if he didn’t know he could do this. And it’s been one of the great and extremely moving backstage dramas of these four years. His courage and persistence and his unbelievable philosophical nature — nobody could’ve survived what he’s been through and going back to work the way he’s gone back to work.”
The fact that Bridges, who in season one was recovering from a cancerous tumor and a bout of COVID that nearly took his life, can tackle these scenes is nothing short of a miracle, but the 73-year-old is up for the challenge. “It’s a lot. Oh, man!” he laughs. “What is so bizarre, to me anyway, in the first season when I was doing these fight scenes, I had a 9-inch by 12-inch tumor in my stomach, that didn’t hurt at all. But I’m feeling great now. There’s still kind of a kid quality in me. I like how you just tumble and have fun.”
And it’s not just Bridges and Lithgow who enjoy seeing this partnership flourish. “Watching these two guys explore these roles, these moments, and giving them a chance to just go for it and not be afraid — these are the most fearless actors I’ve ever witnessed in my life,” says executive producer Dan Shotz. Creator Jonathan E. Steinberg concurs that it is Bridges and Lithgow who keep viewers and the creative team eager to see what comes next. “What was driving the show, in a sense, was what’s going to happen when these two guys are together. And it turns out it’s pretty great,” he says. “It’s such a treat to be able to write scenes for these two and know that they can do anything — and to know that it’s going to be something you’re going to be proud of forever.”
The Old Man airs Thursday, October 3 on FX Canada