‘R.J. Decker’: Beau Bridges Reveals How R.J. & His Father’s Relationship Will Evolve

R.J. Decker delivers the family reunion that R.J. (Scott Speedman) didn’t exactly want in the latest episode, but there’s certainly hope for father and son by the end of it. TV Insider spoke with Beau Bridges about playing R.J.’s father and more. Warning: Spoilers for R.J. Decker Season 2 Episode 4 ahead!

R.J. and Reggie cross paths when the former investigates a fishing tournament where the latter is in the middle of one of his attempts to “get rich quick.” To say their relationship is strained is an understatement; at one point, R.J. is looking at Reggie as a murder suspect. Reggie pulled schemes when R.J. was a child, too. Then, after his parents divorced, Reggie disappeared from R.J.’s life. But now, Reggie says he’s had a wake-up call and he’s determined to fix their relationship. He even helps R.J. with his case, and the episode ends with the two fishing together and Reggie telling his son he’s going to take a beat nad make sure he’s on the right path to get the things he really wants in life.

“I’m enjoying it. I’m having a great time. Scott Speedman is a really cool guy, and we had a lot of fun doing these episodes,” Bridges tells TV Insider. Below, he unpacks the complicated R.J. and Reggie relationship and teases what’s ahead.

Reggie’s saying he’s changed. Do you think he really has changed by the end of the episode? Was that really a wake-up call for him, or is he maybe still tricking himself, as he admitted he’s been doing?

Beau Bridges: I think one of the real strengths of the show is that these characters are all very unique, and certainly Scott’s character is, R.J. I mean, he’s got quite a past, and he’s sort of an ever-changing soul. And his dad is kind of cut from the same cloth in a way because I’m trying one get-rich scheme after another to try to get over the finish line.

Disney/Dana Hawley

We really see how the dynamic changes throughout the episode. It seems like Reggie wants to be a good father, right? It’s just that these things come up that get in the way of that.

Yeah. I mean, I think Scott’s character is evolving all the time. That’s what keeps it interesting. And I think his dad, Reggie Sr., loves his son. He’s had time with him in the past where he’s taken him fishing and so forth and enjoyed time spent with him, but he’s also got his own agenda. He wants to make a hit with some profession, and he keeps trying all these different things. I think one of the reasons he wants to do it is because he would like to provide his son with something nice, and he hasn’t really quite got there yet, so he keeps trying different things, which is frustrating. I don’t think he was really very present in R.J.’s childhood because he was always out there trying stuff. So, in that sense, not a great father.

I’m a dad to five children, and being a good father is probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do. I mean, it’s a big role to fill, and you’ve got a lot of responsibility. So, I could relate to Reggie Sr.’s situation here.

So your character understands why R.J. is hurt, why R.J. is acting the way he is towards him when father and son reunite?

Yeah, the dynamic is pretty apparent. Being a good father is such a difficult task when you fail, which is going to happen a lot because it is the hardest job I’ve ever tried to do, and I love my kids. And I think for the most part I’ve been a good dad, but I have failed at times, and I’m aware of that, and it stays with me when I have. And I’m constantly trying to be a better dad. And I think that’s true about Reggie Sr. He wants to be a good dad. In this situation, R.J., his son, shows up unexpected, so I don’t have time to really make a plan or anything. He’s just there, and I’m happy to see him, but I’m not quite sure how to react to him, which is part of the fun of the episode, I think.

Yeah, and your character plans so much because of his schemes. He’s always planning. So to have him be surprised, that puts him completely off his game.

Exactly. Yeah. And then of course, the murder happens, and my son has to go to work. And I think I’m kind of fascinated by what my son has become, that he’s a PI. I mean, that really interests me.

Do you think that might be his next thing that he tries to do?

Oh, yeah, I think it’s fascinating to him because it’s exciting. He likes to get into that kind of thing. He watches his son do it, and he thinks, “Well, maybe this is something I could do.” And of course I try to jump in there and help him, which he’s not that happy about it. [Laughs]

Talk about working with Scott on the father and son dynamic because of all the layers to it.

Yeah. Well, for one thing, because I’m getting up there and I’ve done a lot of series back in my life and have had the lead in some of them, like he has, carrying all the weight of it, I’m aware of the trials and tribulations and how hard you have to work and how much you have to give up. I mean, Scott’s got young kids and he’s working hard on this. I’m aware of all that, and it’s interesting to watch him deal with it like I had to when I was younger. And I talked to him a little bit about it, but he seems to have a pretty good hold on it. His family’s there with him a lot, which I think helps him, but he’s just a great guy and a fine actor. We’ve had a good time.

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And we’re going to see you beyond this episode?

Episode 5 is coming up, and I’m in that one. I’ve completed that one, but I’ve been told that I got to shut my mouth. I can’t talk too much about that one because I don’t want to spoil it for people. I can tell you that it involves an old people’s home.

Can you say if the father and son dynamic is shifting at all between these two episodes? Are we seeing a change in it?

I think we start to feel more comfortable around each other, certainly. And the surprise factor is less involved because now we’ve been around each other for a while, and I think we, down deep, both care for each other as well. So, it is evolving, and where it leads to, who knows? That’s probably up to the showrunner.

What does Reggie Sr. think of what R.J.’s done with his life? When he is looking at R.J.’s life, you said he’s really interested in this PI business, but then there’s the party, and he sees all his friends and everything, and he’s seeing that R.J. has found a place that he settled, right? Is he seeing that in his son?

Yeah. I think Senior is really impressed with where his son is now. But of course, when his son was in prison, he was there for his son at that time, too. So I think it runs deeper than just the fact that his son is a success. He wants to be there for his kid, but he feels he has to make a success of himself first before he can really be there in a real giving way as a dad, I think.

R.J. Decker, Tuesdays, 11/10c, ABC