Jeff Bridges talks "The Big Lebowski" and his terrifying near-death experience

Jeff Bridges has played many iconic characters throughout his long career, but he told Fox News Digital he is most often recognized for playing "The Dude" in "The Big Lebowski." 

Not only is his character popular, the movie is so beloved it even spawned a religion with loyal followers, known as Dudeism. Bridges finds it amusing that when the movie was first released, it was not well received and took quite a while to gain traction. Over time though, it really took off, inspiring festivals like Lebowski Fest.

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"When you get a great story, and you get a great director and a great cinematographer, the acting is decent, it all kind of comes together," he said. "That's one of the few films that I see on TV I say, I'll just watch a couple of scenes, and then I end up watching the whole damn thing."

Fans of "The Big Lebowski" can expect to see Bridges in season 2 of his show "The Old Man," which will premiere sometime in 2023. Bridges said he was initially scared to sign on for a TV show, mostly because of the stigma once attached to television actors. However, after seeing who else had signed on to the show, he was convinced.

"I was concerned about doing some TV because there was sort of a stigma to it. Back in the early days of my career, my father, Lloyd Bridges, had done many, many series. And I saw how hard he worked at bringing the quality to it and that the quality was often compromised because it was much faster schedule," he explained. "When I saw these high quality shows on TV now I said, 'hey, I've got to, you know, experiment with this and see what that's like,' and I found that it's no different than making a movie."

Bridges also has another project that is very important to him - his recent partnership with AstraZeneca. Additionally, there is a very personal reason he chose to participate in their newest campaign to help immunocompromised individuals stay safe from COVID-19.

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In October 2020, Bridges announced he was being treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He underwent chemotherapy after doctors found a 12-inch mass in his body. Fortunately, once the doctors found the right blend of chemotherapy drugs to treat him, his cancer went into remission quite quickly. 

Although the cancer diagnosis was daunting, testing positive for COVID-19 shortly after his last chemotherapy treatment was also scary because due to his immunocompromised state, his "body had no resources to fight it."

"Shortly after finding out that good news, I got a letter from the treatment center where I was getting my chemo, and they told me that there was a possibility that I had been exposed to COVID," Bridges said. "That meant me being in the hospital for five weeks, very close to, you know, kicking the bucket. I mean, I was very sick."

Bridges got involved with the Up The Antibodies campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the fact that for immunocompromised people, the dangers of COVID-19  have not gone away, and to let them know they are not alone in their concerns for staying safe. It also promotes long acting monoclonal antibodies as a way to combat these dangers.

Bridges revealed that when he was getting ready to promote his latest project, he found himself scared to travel to Los Angeles and New York because he feared catching COVID again. When his doctor suggested getting an EVUSHELD injection, containing long acting monoclonal antibodies, he decided to try it.

"I followed his instruction and got my shots and off I went to promote my film and turns out I didn't get COVID. Then I came back to Montana and my wife, turns out she had COVID, and I didn't get it," he explained. "So I figured, wow, this stuff, you know, this looks like this works. And to be a part of the campaign to turn other people on to this, I thought was a good thing to do." 

According to Bridges, the EVUSHELD injection is different from a vaccine, and when combined, they give the immune systems of immunocompromised individuals extra support.

"For people like me who are immunocompromised, wow, it makes all the difference. I'm a guy who likes to hug people and see my family and that's not that unusual I don't think," he said. "This allows me to, you know, be a little more confident that I'm going to be all right when I do those things."

"If you're immunocompromised talk to your doctor about taking this long acting monoclonal antibody," he said. "Find out if you're a candidate for that kind of treatment, so you can go out and live your life, do the kinds of things that you love to do without being so concerned about getting COVID because it's still around."

Actor Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily V. Gordon are also involved with the campaign, recalling their anxiety when COVID-19 first began, due to the fact that Gordon is immunocompromised.

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"At the start of the pandemic, I suffered panic attacks for the first time in my life because I was so worried about Emily, and now, while we have learned to navigate together, it never gets easier," Nanjiani said in a statement. "Decisions are often made together, which is why it’s important for everyone to know that there is the option to add protection in addition to vaccines and boosters, wearing a mask and social distancing to prevent COVID-19."