Acclaimed actors Jeff Bridges and Amy Brenneman joined a live audience at UC Santa Barbara to talk about their work on FX’s gripping psychological thriller, The Old Man. The series, which premiered in 2022, follows Dan Chase (Bridges), a former CIA operative who’s been living off the grid for decades. When an assassin tries to take him out, Chase is forced to reckon with his past and the legacy he’s left behind.

Jeff Bridges, widely praised for his portrayal of Chase, speaks to the complex layering of the character—a man grappling with guilt, trauma, and the physical limits of age. He touches on the challenge of playing a character constantly navigating between self-preservation and vulnerability. Bridges also shares how his own experiences, including a recent battle with cancer and COVID-19, unexpectedly deepened his connection to the role.

Amy Brenneman, who plays Zoe McDonald, brings insight into her character’s evolution from a bystander into an active participant in Chase’s journey. She explains that The Old Man isn’t just a thriller—it’s also an exploration of unexpected companionship, the trust forged between broken people, and the freedom that can emerge from facing one’s past. Brenneman shares how the role offered her space to play someone strong yet emotionally raw, and she admired the show’s commitment to character over cliché.

Together, Bridges and Brenneman highlight the show’s storytelling and cinematic style, as well as how it invites viewers to consider what it means to grow older in a world obsessed with reinvention. The Old Man is not just about survival—it’s about transformation, moral ambiguity, and the bonds that persist even in the most fractured of lives.

Watch Panic!: FX’s The Old Man – A Conversation with Jeff Bridges and Amy Brenneman.