Jeff Bridges on Surviving the Virus
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Jeff Bridges on Surviving the Virus

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SPOILER ALERT: The following interview contains spoilers from the Season 2 finale of “XV.”Old Man” is currently streaming on Hulu.

There was nothing to neatly tie things together in Thursday’s finale of FX’s “The Old Man,” which wrapped up the show’s thrilling second season with a cliffhanger that hinted at things to come.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a solution in “XV,” like former CIA agent Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges) escape death after his girlfriend Zoe (Amy Brenneman) reaches him in time to give him the antidote needed to stop a deadly virus he was previously exposed to. At a safe house to recuperate with Zoe watching over him, Chase was also reunited with his presumed dead daughter Emily (Alia Shawkat), which opens the story of the show’s third season. (At press time, the Emmy-nominated series had not yet been officially renewed.)

Amy Brenneman as Zoe McDonald, Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase
Courtesy of Chuck Hodes/FX

While viewers await renewal news, Bridges said: Diversity It covers Chase’s complex relationships with the surprising women in his life, how the Academy Award-winning actor pulled off the intense role while dealing with his own personal battle with stomach cancer, and where “The Old Man” fits into his veteran acting career.

The whole season has been such a nail-biter. Given that every scene is always so risky, do you feel that when you’re shooting?

Oh, yes, definitely. It’s fun because, unlike movies like this that have a beginning, middle and end, I don’t know where it’s going to go. It’s very much like life, and luckily there’s a great guy at the helm with Jon Steinberg. But I had the same feeling when I first read your script. And I was like, “What? I have to read this again! Oh my god!”

Inside In the scene in the penultimate episode, you are strapped down as this airborne virus slowly takes over your body. How were you able to convey so much while having to remain motionless?

It was a bit challenging trying to figure out what the effect of this drug would be. I did some research, and when you have long conversations you take some poetic license, but “How long ago did the guy inhale this thing?” you think. So we went back and forth and tried to translate this.

We saw Zoe make great progress in the finale, using the rifle quite well and saving Dan’s life. How does Dan feel about her at this point at the end of Season 2? They must have questions for him.

He has an explanation for everything he does. You can imagine living a secret life for so long and then letting someone know – I was going to say “To know who you are” but I don’t even think Dan knows exactly who he is. But I think circumstances led him to fall in love. This idea is not supposed to be original, he is very good at it. He builds his life on being unoriginal. He longs for someone to truly see and understand him, and that’s why he falls in love with her. These are my thoughts. I think Dan was surprised by some of the things he did.

The final scene, where Dan sees his daughter Emily (aka Parwana) for the first time since he last saw her in Afghanistan, is truly emotionally charged. D.Does he have any insight into what Dan went through leading up to his time in Afghanistan?

I don’t think so. He can only imagine it, but no, he has no real idea what it is.

Is it because of his love for Emily that he will do what Emily wants to save Harold Harper (John Lithgow), who is being held by his ex-wife Marion (Janet McTeer)? At first he doesn’t seem very happy with her request.

I think so too. I don’t think you want to go. She tries her hardest to convince him otherwise, but that leaves him open to Dan’s next move. You see those cars and the guys will buy it right away. At this point, it’s not like she’s not going with him because she loves him. He was a little surprised. And very angry! So I have three daughters; I know a little about this. I may be angry, but I still love them.

Emily even sets herself apart in that scene because she has a level of power and responsibility that she didn’t have before because she now controls the valuable Meshbahar mine. How does Dan see it now?

I think some thoughts might be: “I taught him well. Now I’m facing an opponent who knows all my ins and outs.” And Emily is so angry at me. She’s so upset that I kept this whole truth from her.

How many takes did you take for the entire final scene with Amy and Alia?

there was one share He’s shooting the scene. We approached it in many different ways, but there were many approaches.

We hear Emily say that Dan will need Lou Barlow, and we realize that’s not the old alias Dan likes to live by. Is it safe to say this is true?

Definitely. I have questions and I spoke with Jon Steinberg. I still don’t know the exact answer to who this guy is and what he does, but I do have some clues and clues, and it’s pretty impressive. The plot really thickens.

Considering that the final scene sets up season three where Dan agrees to help save Harold, a season three renewal has to happen, right?

We don’t know. I guess we’ll see in a few days. Maybe they’re waiting for the last show to let us know. I don’t know.

You’ve been through a lot on the show this season, whether it’s riding horses or physically taking down evil Russians. This is a very physical show for you. How did you endure all this with your health problems?

Those health problems occurred right in the middle of this incident. I cringe when I look at the fight scenes in the first few episodes because little did I know that I had a nine x twelve inch tumor in my stomach at the time I was getting punched. I got hit in the stomach and it didn’t hurt at all. But we have Tim Connolly as our stunt coordinator and he’s great to work with. I enjoyed doing the fight scenes.

My only request for Season 3 is that we need more dogs since they weren’t enough in Season 2.

I’ll report this to Jon Steinberg and see if we can help you that way. But it’s great to work with them. All in all there are six and my favorite is Freya. Very sweet. But for each mission they change them and make them look like cool dogs.

When you look at your career, where does “Old Man” fall in terms of being challenged and proud?

Oh man, that’s a tough question. I know that those corny words that actors say about each of their projects are like their children. They love every single one of them, so you get so involved, it gets so intense. Since I’m an old man myself, my memory is kind of fading, so I’m interested in the one I’m working on right now, and that’s “The Old Man.” It’s there with all my stuff. This is my current love.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

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