Jeff Bridges (‘The Old Man’): Oscar winner could make Emmy history

Since making his screen debut at age eight opposite his father, Lloyd Bridges, on TV’s “Sea Hunt,” Jeff Bridges has enjoyed an acting career that now spans a whopping 65 years. His resume mainly consists of film roles, but he has occasionally ventured back to the small screen, most recently as the star of “The Old Man.” Having already picked up Golden Globe, Critics Choice, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his performance on the FX series, he is naturally one of the strongest contenders for this year’s Best Drama Actor Emmy. If his likely bid results in a victory, the Best Actor Oscar winner will join a distinguished group of leading men who were lauded by the film and then TV academies.

Bridges earned his first and only Oscar 13 years ago for his portrayal of recovering alcoholic country singer Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart.” He had previously reaped four film acting notices for “The Last Picture Show” (supporting, 1972), “Thunderbolt and Lightfoot” (supporting, 1975), “Starman” (lead, 1985), and “The Contender” (supporting,” 2001) and went on to garner two more for “True Grit” (lead, 2011) and “Hell or High Water” (supporting, 2017). His sole Emmy bid to date – on which he lost to Al Pacino (“You Don’t Know Jack”) – came in 2010 for his work in the TV movie “A Dog Year.”

More from GoldDerby

• Box office preview: 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' hopes to boost May after weak start

• Making of 'Ghosts' panel: Showrunners, actors, writer and director from the seminal 'Holes Are Bad' episode reveal how it all came to be [Exclusive Video Interview]

• Simon Elliott ('All the Light We Cannot See' production designer) on 'exploring a world from a different perspective' for a blind actress [Exclusive Video Interview]

On “The Old Man,” which is based on Thomas Perry’s novel of the same name, Bridges plays the part of Dan Chase, a former CIA operative who goes into hiding after his dark past catches up to him. This constitutes his very first regular role on a continuing series and his first TV performance at all since “A Dog Year.”

Bridges’s potential Emmy win would make him the 12th man to receive lead prizes from both academies and the first to achieve his TV victory for a comedy or drama series. The inaugural member of this club was Laurence Olivier, who was honored in 1960 for the telefilm “The Moon and Sixpence” 11 years after winning his only competitive Oscar for “Hamlet.” Years later, he bagged three more lead Emmys for “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” (1973), “Love Among the Ruins” (1975), and “King Lear” (1984).

Olivier was followed by Paul Scofield, who won at the 1969 Emmys for “Male of the Species” after receiving an Oscar for “A Man for All Seasons” in 1967. Next was George C. Scott, whose 1971 TV triumph for “The Price” came less than a month after his Oscar win for “Patton.” They were then joined by William Holden (Emmy: “The Blue Knight,” 1974; Oscar: “Stalag 17,” 1954) and Dustin Hoffman (“Death of a Salesman,” 1986; “Kramer vs. Kramer,” 1980).

The one who waited the longest between Oscar and Emmy wins was Jack Lemmon, who, 26 years after snagging his lead film trophy for “Save the Tiger,” prevailed on his fifth and final TV outing as the star of “Tuesdays with Morrie” (2000). Pacino then followed up his 1993 Oscar win for “Scent of a Woman” with an Emmy victory for “Angels in America” (2004) before prevailing again in 2010. Between Pacino’s pair of TV triumphs came Geoffrey Rush (“The Life and Death of Peter Sellers,” 2005; “Shine,” 1997) and Robert Duvall (“Broken Trail,” 2007; “Tender Mercies,” 1984), followed by most recent entrant Michael Douglas (“Behind the Candelabra,” 2013; “Wall Street,” 1988).

Since the long list of 2023 Best Drama Actor hopefuls also includes past lead Oscar champs Gary Oldman (“Slow Horses”), Forest Whitaker (“Godfather of Harlem”), and even Pacino (“Hunters”), Bridges isn’t the only one who can join this exclusive club this year, but he has by far the best chance of doing so. With his precursor track record and sixth place ranking by Gold Derby’s odds, his nomination is almost assured, and he can reasonably go all the way.

PREDICT the 2023 Emmy nominees through July 12

Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

• Daniel Taylor ('True Detective: Night Country' production designer) on the 'nerve wracking' ordeal of building endless ice caves [Exclusive Video Interview]

• ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’ cinematographer Adam Gillham on defying the expectations of a period piece [Exclusive Video Interview]

• Damian Marcano ('Lawmen: Bass Reeves' director) on capturing 'lightning in a bottle' with David Oyelowo's performance [Exclusive Video Interview]

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.