Giving his daughter away on her wedding day took work for Jeff Bridges.
In a new interview with The Independent, the 72-year-old “True Grit” star opened up about his recent health troubles, including his diagnosis with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2020.
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He also contracted COVID in 2021. Later in the year, Bridges announced that his cancer was in remission, but as he has now shared, recovery was not easy.
With his daughter’s wedding to attend, the actor said, “The first goal was how long can I stand up.”
As it turned out, he could only stand for 45 seconds at a time. It took working with a trainer and oxygen assistance in order to be able to walk longer distances.
“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,” Bridges said. “That was terrific.”
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Speaking with People earlier this year, Bridges talked about his experience with COVID while undergoing chemotherapy.
“I had no defenses. That’s what chemo does — it strips you of all your immune system. I had nothing to fight it,” he said. “COVID made my cancer look like nothing.”
He added, “I was pretty close to dying. 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.”
