Jeff Bridges was in fight-or-flight mode shortly after receiving a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020.

Bridges, 74, who portrays a former CIA agent in “The Old Man”, he was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer after a medical checkup showed that he had a large tumor in his stomach.

A few months earlier, the acclaimed actor had filmed intense fight scenes for season one of the FX series in which he was “punched and punched in the stomach.”

“God, looking back at those, I actually winced because I didn’t know it at the time, but I had a 9-by-12-inch tumor in my stomach — 9-by-12 inches! – while being kicked and punched. in the stomach and stuff,” Bridges said People magazine. “It didn’t hurt. There was no pain. But then I had this long break (from filming).”

JEFF BRIDGES VIEWS RING FIGHT THAT LEFT HIM ‘PRET NEAR DEATH’ AS ‘LEARNING EXPERIENCE’

Jeff Bridges struggled with his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. (Gilbert Flores)

While undergoing chemotherapy and also contracting COVID during the show’s hiatus, Bridges was left wondering if she was “going to even do a Season 2” of the show.

JEFF BRIDGES SAYS HAD HUGE ‘9-INCHES BY 12-INC’ TUMOR WHILE FILMING THRILLER SHOW

“While I was sick, I thought that not only would I not go back to ‘The Old Man’, I might as well kick the bucket. It has come to that,” he said. “I remember a doctor saying, ‘You have to fight, Jeff. Don’t fight.”

Jeff Bridges thought he “might kick the bucket” during his battle with cancer. (Getty Images)

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“While I was sick, I thought not only was I not going back to ‘The Old Man,’ but I thought I might as well kick the bucket. It has come to that.”

— Jeff Bridges

“And I had no idea what he was talking about. I was in surrender mode, just “Everybody dies. I might be the one doing it.” And from that teaching, as I say, all this intense love came to the surface, and maybe that’s what made me survive, I don’t know, but I didn’t relate to the struggle, more to a teaching.

In addition to treatments, “The Big Lebowski” star. he began intensive physical therapy and set small goals with his therapist to help him focus on the future. One goal: to be healthy enough to walk Hayley’s daughter down the aisle at her wedding.

Bridges and wife Susan Geston have been married for 48 years. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

“I didn’t know how I could do it, but I said, ‘Well, let’s train. Let’s make that our goal,” he said. “So I worked on it. And it turned out that not only did I walk her down the aisle, but I had to do the wedding dance with her. Then I’d rush to my table and put my oxygen on!”

Bridges’ tumor was shrunk to the size of a marble in season two of “The Old Man,” and his oncologist is proud of his progress.

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“I don’t know his exact size,” Bridges said. “I’m getting MRIs and everything, but my oncologist is like, ‘You look good, man.’ And I’m getting all my blood work done and everything and everything is going really well.”

Throughout his “fascinating” health journey, Bridges has learned a few lessons.

The “Big Lebowski” actor said that “everything is going really well” when it comes to his health now. (Getty Images)

“All of your strategies for life, the way you work — all of that becomes heightened,” he said. “And love, that’s the word that comes to mind. To see how much I love my family and friends, the nurses and doctors who took care of me, and how much love comes to me.

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“So it exacerbated the love, basically.”