Despite the fact he’s still enjoying big screen success, veteran actor Jeff Bridges has decided to make the leap to television in the form of the new FX series titled The Old Man. In it, he plays former CIA agent Dan Chase, who had abandoned the agency decades earlier and living off the grid ever since. He’s forced to reconcile his past when he discovers that an assassin has been sent to take him out.

The Old Man is based on the novel by Thomas Perry, and the script is written by Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine. Nick Grad, co-president along with Gina Balian of original programming at the network, enthuses, “Jeff Bridges is an iconic, extraordinary actor and to have him as the star of this series is an incredible moment for FX. Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine have delivered an amazing pilot script and Jeff is perfect for the role of Dan Chase. We’re also happy to be working with [producer] Warren Littlefield, with whom we’ve had such a terrific partnership on Fargo, along with our partners at Fox 21.”

Jeff Bridges Golden Globes
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An elaboration of the plot comes from the book’s publisher, Mysterious Press: “To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont with two big mutts and a grown daughter he keeps in touch with by phone. But most 60-year-old widowers don’t have multiple driver’s licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country and a bugout kit with two Beretta Nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run. Thirty-five years ago, as a young hotshot in army intelligence, Chase was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army. When the plan turned sour, Chase reacted according to his own ideas of right and wrong, triggering consequences he could never have anticipated. And someone still wants him dead because of them. Just as he had begun to think himself finally safe, Chase must reawaken his survival instincts to contend with the history he has spent his adult life trying to escape. Armed mercenaries, spectacularly crashed cars, a precarious love interest and an unforgettable chase scene through the snow — this is lethal plotting from one of the best in crime fiction.”

Jeff Bridge’s TV history includes four episodes of Sea Hunt — the series starring his father, Lloyd — back when he was a kid. He also appeared in three episodes of The Lloyd Bridges Show, followed by guest starring roles on such shows as The Loner, The F.B.I. and Lassie. In 2008 he starred in the TV movie A Dog Year.

Filming of The Old Man begins this fall.

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