While many major TV and film productions, from Hollywood to Bollywood, were interrupted owing to Covid-19, most didn’t also have to deal with their stars contracting the virus and receiving a diagnosis of potentially fatal lymphatic cancer at the same time.
However, that was the double blow The Old Man faced in 2020, as its star Jeff Bridges was given the difficult news. It prompted a two-year delay in the production of the CIA action-thriller series, which is now finally streaming on Disney+ in the UAE.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the famously laid-back actor seems to have taken it all in his stride.
He describes the experience as “like a long weekend where a bizarre dream happened", before turning to one of his best-loved films to rationalise the situation.
“On a good day you're aware of that precious quality of life," he says. "But sometimes I'm thinking of a quote from The Stranger in The Big Lebowski where he says: ‘Sometimes you eat the bar, and sometimes the bar eats you'.
“Sometimes you're on top of life, but every now and then, whatever good philosophies you have, sometimes life will get you no matter what.”
The 72-year-old actor’s openness is characteristic of a man who The New Yorker once described as the “least self-conscious screen actor that has ever lived". He’s also been looking at the positive side of his all-too-close encounter with cancer and Covid.
“Just being alive is a gift, and sometimes that gift is something that apparently you don't want,” he says. “Who wants cancer and Covid? But as I look back on it, I say: ‘You know, that was nightmarish sometimes, but I'm glad I went through it.’ I learned things during that time that I wouldn't have learned in a smoother time.”
For Bridges, the challenge of his illness presented an opportunity to test his abiding philosophies and belief system. The actor once described Lebowski as the “Beatles moment” of his career, however it seems his brush with his own mortality was a more life-defining moment.
“I find as I get older, all of those things that you believe in, that you strive for, they're all tested and with each test, there's an opportunity to go to the next level,” he says.
“We spend so much of our lives trying to avoid stress, but life is stressful, so you’ve got to practice how you stress properly. What's the best way to be stressed? I'm going to get stressed, so how do I do that? Our species has been around for thousands of years and you can learn from that. Just be open and you'll learn life is wonderful that way. It'll keep presenting us with challenges and those are to be met with that love and openness. I pick that as my strategy.”
This encounter with Bridges is becoming increasingly like an afternoon in the company of his ever-chilled, slacker philosopher The Dude from the aforementioned Coen Brothers classic Lebowski, so it comes as a surprise when Bridges reveals that despite his unflappable reputation, he is actually a long-term anxiety sufferer.
“Apparently I’m laid back, but I've got the other thing going too. I'm just as anxious and paranoid as the next person,” he insists.
“I always feel ill-prepared and not ready. When I was a kid, I’d get in the car with my mother going off to work, and she could tell I was anxious. She’d say: ‘Jeff, do what I say, remember? Don't take it too seriously, and have fun.’ And I’d be like ‘thank you,’ and I’m fine.”
Bridges’s mother, the American actress and author Dorothy Bridges, died in 2009, but he still finds a way to overcome his anxiety through love. Another lady in his life has now taken on the anxiety-checking role his mother once played.
“Now my wife, Sue, we've been married 45 years, and I'll be anxious for a role, like with The Old Man. I'll be going off to work and say: ‘I'm so anxious.’ And, she says to me: ‘Jeff, you're always like that. Come here — just remember not to take it too seriously and have fun,’” he explains.
“I’d forgotten, and I’m just like: ‘Thank you, mom, I forgot.’ So that's the challenge — always to relax, don’t you find?”
The Old Man is now streaming in the UAE on Disney+
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
Virtual banks explained
What is a virtual bank?
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority defines it as a bank that delivers services through the internet or other electronic channels instead of physical branches. That means not only facilitating payments but accepting deposits and making loans, just like traditional ones. Other terms used interchangeably include digital or digital-only banks or neobanks. By contrast, so-called digital wallets or e-wallets such as Apple Pay, PayPal or Google Pay usually serve as intermediaries between a consumer’s traditional account or credit card and a merchant, usually via a smartphone or computer.
What’s the draw in Asia?
Hundreds of millions of people under-served by traditional institutions, for one thing. In China, India and elsewhere, digital wallets such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and Paytm have already become ubiquitous, offering millions of people an easy way to store and spend their money via mobile phone. Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are also among the world’s biggest under-banked countries; together they have almost half a billion people.
Is Hong Kong short of banks?
No, but the city is among the most cash-reliant major economies, leaving room for newcomers to disrupt the entrenched industry. Ant Financial, an Alibaba Group Holding affiliate that runs Alipay and MYBank, and Tencent Holdings, the company behind WeBank and WeChat Pay, are among the owners of the eight ventures licensed to create virtual banks in Hong Kong, with operations expected to start as early as the end of the year.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
The biog
Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness
Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon
LAST 16 DRAW
Borussia Dortmund v PSG
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Atalanta v Valencia
Atletico Madrid v Liverpool
Chelsea v Bayern Munich
Lyon v Juventus
Tottenham v Leipzig
Napoli v Barcelona
'Spies in Disguise'
Director: Nick Bruno and Troy Quane
Stars: Will Smith, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan and Roshida Jones
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
