Amy Brenneman (‘The Old Man’): ‘It’s this examination of masculinity and hyper-masculinity’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

Matt Noble
·3 min read
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“I feel a little old to play the girlfriend,” confesses Amy Brenneman about her role in the FX spy drama “The Old Man.” For our recent webchat she continues, “What I love about this project is it’s a re-examination of all these tropes. It’s this masculine action hero. Ok, what happens when he gets old? I’m the girlfriend. But she’s got a lot going on too. Ultimately, it’s this examination of masculinity and hyper-masculinity. As the systems break down and international politics shift, what’s another way?” Watch our exclusive video interview above.

“The Old Man” follows former CIA agent and fugitive Dan Chase (Jeff Bridges) who is on the run from the FBI and assassins. Brenneman plays Zoe McDonald, a woman Dan rents a property from who gets caught up in the danger as they fall in love. She says, “Every single other person is part of this super complicated decades long spy thriller. Zoe is the audience. She’s a newbie. She’s an outsider. This world that they are so familiar in, she gets to have perspective on. At the same time, what I say to Jeff is, She’s an American woman living in the twenty-first century. Her life is just as complex. She has to shape-shift and dissemble just as much as any spy to get through her day.”

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SEEJeff Bridges interview: ‘The Old Man’

As the series progresses Zoe adapts and in the fourth episode devises a plan to get some control in her relationship with Dan. Brenneman compares this role to past experiences saying, “I’ve been around long enough where I’ve heard, ‘we’re gonna write a strong woman’ and she’s just imitating a dude. But here to watch somebody gain some strength and watch her hit her stride was really exciting. I thin the audience was, ‘what the xxxx just happened?’”

Working so closely with Oscar winner Bridges, Brenneman reveals, “He’s completely available and entirely present. You could play Zoe with him! He makes everyone feel like a million bucks. The only work is to play as hard as he does.” She later adds, “You feel sort of high, I’m not just saying it because he played The Big Lebowski. He and I have a similar spiritual practice. You don’t judge what comes your way. It’s what you can learn from it and what you can take delight in.”

Brenneman has previously received four Emmy nominations. two in the 90s for her work on “NYPD Blue” and three the following decade for playing the title role in “Judging Amy.” The actress reflects, “When I was younger I’d think a lot by myself. Now it’s in the doing. I practice a collaborative artform. I practice an in the moment artform. I can have all sorts of ideas. But when I’m actually doing it, that was completely different. I try to think a little bit less and be present to what is actually happening.”

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