Jeff Bridges has reflected on having a near-death experience when he became seriously ill amid his cancer diagnosis.
The 75-year-old star of The Big Lebowski, The Fabulous Baker Boys and True Grit, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2020, after doctors found a “12-by-nine-inch tumour” in his stomach.
The actor underwent chemotherapy, which improved his prognosis, but left him with a very weak immune system – meaning that when he caught Covid in January 2021, he became seriously ill and spent five weeks in an intensive care unit.
In a new interview with The Times, Bridges said that being so close to death changed his outlook on life.
“The very things you are trying to avoid – cancer, death, whatever – are where the gold is,” he said.
“You become privy to stuff that you can only realise in that situation: how much you love and are loved, how willing you are to let go, understanding death, all those spiritual things we dabble with.”
“When it really gets down to it… Whoo! It’s tasty.”
Earlier this year, the Bridges family lost their Malibu home in the California wildfires, but Bridges said that the chain of disastrous events that he’s experienced in recent years hasn’t left him feeling sorry for yourself.
“Only when you get to rub up against that s*** do you see the magic of life,” he said.
According to the NHS, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body.
In the UK, more than 13,000 people are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma each year, and the most common symptom is a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit or groin.
Speaking to The Independent in 2022, Bridges said that the perspective he gained from his brush with death was a “gift”.
“I learnt things during those times that I wouldn’t have learnt in any other way,” he said.
Explaining what he learnt, he added: “Oh, well, to dig, man. Dig it all as it’s coming at me. That was the specific thing: dig every little thing. And by dig, I mean, get into it, you know, get into what’s happening in a very rich way, you know. As deeply as you can.”
Bridges said that the experience exacerbated his love for his family: his wife Sue, their three adult daughters and several grandchildren.
He was determined to walk his youngest daughter, Hayley, down the aisle, at a time when he could only stand up for 45 seconds.
“The first goal was how long can I stand up and my record was 45 seconds, that’s how long I could stand up. And then it was, how many steps can I take? Oh good. Now I’m going to walk down the hall – all this with oxygen, of course.”
“Finally, one day I said, ‘Maybe I can do it, you know.’ And it turns out I not only got to walk her down the aisle, but I got to do the wedding dance [to Ray Charles’s “Ain’t That Love”]. That was terrific.”
Melanie Sykes shares heartbreaking health update after losing ‘half her hair’
The new markers that tell you if you are rich in 2025
It’s wrong to tell off other people’s kids – it leaves me fuming as a mum
Ford Capri Premium: Blast from the past
Actor Josh Duhamel reveals reasons for ditching Los Angeles and living ‘off-grid’
Tax Day 2025: All of the restaurants offering free food or discounts
