Jeff Bridges has been a part of many incredible movies, but there is this one film that would have been incomplete without him. Bridges’ starring film, The Big Lebowski, indeed cannot be imagined without the actor’s presence. Bridges’ role as The Dude became an iconic part of his career.
Looking at the popularity of the character, rejecting the role would have been a great mistake in Bridges’ career. Surprisingly, the actor initially turned down the film for a bizarre reason. Nevertheless, Bridges took up the role and aced it. The actor was so fond of his character that he previously expressed his desire to be a part of its sequel.
Jeff Bridges almost rejected an iconic role for a bizarre reason
Among many other roles of Jeff Bridges, his role in The Big Lebowski as The Dude is indeed one of the most memorable roles of his career. The character played by Bridges represents a person who only wanted to bowl, drink White Russians, and get a new rug. Looking at the characteristics of the dude, Bridges became quite skeptical about portraying the role.
During an interview, Bridges claimed that when the film was being made, his daughters were quite young, and he was worried that his daughters would get teased because of his role. The actor said,
“I’ll tell you what, on that one, it was tough. I read the script; I loved the script, but I’m playing this pothead guy, not that I have anything against potheads. … [But] I know there’s kind of a downside to being the kid of a famous person; there’s a lot of baggage. I thought, you know, I don’t know how my girls — I had three young girls at the time — how they were going to feel. How they were going to get teased or how they would feel about that.”
It was perhaps the sweetest reason to turn down a film; however, turning down such a cult film would have been the biggest mistake of Bridges’ career.
Jeff Bridges is planning to reprise his role as The Dude
Jeff Bridges’ rejection of the iconic film came as a shock to his peers. One of his co-stars recalled how long Bridges took to agree to the role. She said,
“Joel Nathan wrote it for him, sent it to him, and he said it’s great, not sure I could do this.”
His skepticism about accepting the role made everyone wonder, “How could he not?” However, ultimately, the actor agreed to take on the role and indeed aced it in every way. Though the film couldn’t perform great at the box office, it eventually made its place in the audience’s hearts, and today it is renowned as a cult classic film.
The film was released in 1998, and by now it has completed its 25 years. Bridges’ role in the film gave him immense love from the audience. The actor is so pleased with the film that he eagerly waits to be a part of its sequel. During an interview, when the actor was asked if he would like to reprise his iconic role, he said, “Oh God! If the brothers were involved, I certainly would.”
The film can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
