Actor Jeff Bridges Says Health Is Doing Great, 3 Years Post Cancer Battle

Jeff Bridges poses during the 49th Chaplin Award that honored him in New York City on April 29, 2024. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges has given an update on his health, three years after a cancer battle that left him close to losing his life.

Speaking to PageSix at the 49th Chaplin Award Gala in New York Monday night, “The Big Lebowski” star was in great spirits and doing well in remission since treatment for Lymphoma.

“It’s such a learning experience being sick like that … it’s amazing the way the mind can forget all that stuff. I’m not thinking too much about the past,” he told the outlet.

The 74-year-old said he has come a long way, admitting that he was “pretty close to dying” after contracting COVID-19 simultaneously during his cancer fight.

“The doctors kept telling me, ‘Jeff, you’ve got to fight. You’re not fighting.’ I was in surrender mode, I was ready to go. I was dancing with my mortality,” he told People in May 2022.

Despite his struggles, the actor reaffirmed he does not spend time dwelling on the past, adding he is grateful to put it all behind him.

Mr. Bridges was honored at the gala in Lincoln Center as the recipient of the 49th Chaplin Award. The Chaplin Award Gala is the major annual fundraiser for Film, that celebrates bestowed actors and filmmakers in the industry.

“Jeff Bridges is one of our most distinguished and beloved actors whose body of work, commitment to his art, and lifetime of career achievements demonstrate a significant contribution to the art of film,” said the organization.

He has been nominated for more than 100 awards and has made over 70 films, among them “The Big Lebowski,” “Hell or High Water,” “Tron,” and 2009’s “Crazy Heart,” for which he won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and SAG Award.

The Dude (Jeff Bridges) abiding in "The Big Lebowski." Gramercy Pictures

Weird Feeling

Mr. Bridges was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma back in October 2020 before undergoing chemotherapy treatment the following year. He took to social media at the time to announce his diagnosis.

“Although it is a serious disease, I feel fortunate that I have a great team of doctors and the prognosis is good. I’m starting treatment and will keep you posted on my recovery.”

Unknowing to him, the actor decided to get checked out after doing exercises one day at home and having a weird feeling in his stomach.

“I was doing some exercises while on the ground and felt what seemed like a bone in my stomach. I thought to myself, ‘Hmm.’ But it didn’t hurt or anything,” he told People.

Doctors then discovered a 12-by-9-inch tumor in his body while he was filming the TV series “The Old Man.”

“I was doing those fight scenes for the first episode of ‘The Old Man’ and didn’t know…you’d think that would have hurt or something, when they were punching me and stuff. It didn’t.”

He underwent both infusion and oral chemotherapy, and the tumor began to shrink, eventually entering remission in 2022.

As a result, the actor has learned to appreciate life more, saying coming close to death has taught him a true lesson. “Life is brief and beautiful. Love is all around us, and available at all times,” he wrote on his website at the time.

Lymphoma is a cancer with two main types—Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)—and forms in the body’s lymphatic system.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the most common symptoms are ​​painless swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, armpits, or groin, but can also include fever, constant fatigue, shortness of breath, and weight loss.

Treatment may involve chemotherapy, immunotherapy medications, radiation therapy, a bone marrow transplant, or a combination.

The American Cancer Society says About 80,620 people will be diagnosed with NHL, including both adults and children.