John Lithgow Was Thrilled to Finally Work With Jeff Bridges on ‘The Old Man’
For actors who’ve been working in Hollywood for a while, it can be a thrill to finally get the chance to collaborate with a respected peer. After all, two veteran performers have a lot in common, creating the perfect atmosphere for an inspiring time on set. That’s what happened when John Lithgow at long last got to work with Oscar winner Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart) on the new FX series The Old Man.
Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow star in the FX series ‘The Old Man’
John Lithgow and Jeff Bridges have decades of experience as actors. From movies to the stage, these two iconic performers have been creating iconic characters since at least the 1970s. In fact, Bridges has been on screen since the 1950s, thanks in large part to his famous father Lloyd Bridges. He has since starred in hits like The Big Lebowski, Iron Man, and Tron.
Meanwhile, Lithgow has delivered standout performances in movies such as Harry and the Hendersons, Cliffhanger, and Shrek. He also delivered Emmy-winning turns on TV’s 3rd Rock From the Sun and Dexter, where he played the Trinity Killer.
Now the pair stars in The Old Man, following a former CIA operative (Bridges) on the run from an FBI agent (Lithgow).
John Lithgow revealed the bond he shares with Jeff Bridges
In a recent video for GQ, John Lithgow reviews the most memorable roles of his career. And in looking ahead to The Old Man, he shares how excited he was to work with Bridges and the bond the two men formed while working on an extended scene between their two characters.
“Finally, I got to work with Jeff, and it was completely fantastic … It took us six days to shoot this scene. So that’s six days in a car with Jeff Bridges, and he was so much fun. Just a wonderful guy to act with, of course, but also to just get to know. Interestingly enough, we had mics on, so the entire crew of about 40 people were basically listening to Jeff and I become old, old friends over the course of six days. We would be talking very, very earnestly and intimately about issues in our lives, and suddenly realizing, ‘Wait a minute. We’re sharing this with everyone.’ Or there was an entire afternoon where we were telling jokes. And we would tell each other a joke, reach the punchline, and we would hear the laughter of about 40 people.”
With all that Bridges and Lithgow have accomplished, it’s remarkable they didn’t cross paths on-screen sooner. Thankfully, it sounds like the two established a lot of common ground right from the start. So the stars are likely excited that FX has already ordered The Old Man Season 2.
Lithgow finally worked with some other huge actors recently
But The Old Man isn’t the only project in which John Lithgow finally got to share the screen with a legendary actor. In fact, he told GQ he has been on a bit of a roll in crossing some huge Oscar-winning stars off his list of actors he wants to work with.
“You get to be my age, and you finally get to work with a lot of people you’ve been waiting to work with for a long, long time, and the payoff is simply wonderful. This past year, it’s been Jeff and [Robert] De Niro and [Leonardo] DiCaprio and Julianne Moore … But Jeff is the best of all.”
Lithgow appears opposite Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Killers of the Flower Moon, set for release in November 2022. Meanwhile, Lithgow stars in the comedy-thriller Sharper with Moore, though no release date has been set.
Killers of the Flower Moon and Sharper will stream on Apple TV+. In the meantime, The Old Man airs on FX.
