Jeff Bridges, John Goodman & Steve Buscemi Talk ‘Big Lebowski’ And Why One Of Them Almost Turned It Down

It’s been 20 years since the film world was introduced to the iconic character known as The Dude. That’s right, in 1998, following the Oscar-winning success of “Fargo,” Joel and Ethan Coen released “The Big Lebowski.” And frankly, at the time, no one knew what the hell to think about it. But over the course of years, ‘Lebowski’ has turned into one of the biggest cult classic films of all time. Now, in a new interview, The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, sits down with John Goodman and Steve Buscemi to talk about the film, and what makes it so special.

Considering the odd nature of the film, and how it seems to defy all genre labels, The Today Show interviewer asks each many what they thought of the script after they first read it. And as with initial audiences, Buscemi wasn’t sold right away.

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“I loved it. I thought it was really wild and weird and funny,” said Buscemi. However, that didn’t mean he was instantly on board the project. In fact, the actor, who starred in the Coens’ previous film, “Fargo,” was initially apprehensive.

Buscemi explains, “When I was reading the part of Donnie, I kind of didn’t get it. I felt bad for the guy. I felt sad. I thought, ‘Why does Walter bully him all the time?’ And as I’m reading it, I thought, ‘How am I gonna tell Joel and Ethan that I don’t want to do this?’ And then I got to [Donnie’s] last scene…Then I saw the relationship. I saw how much Walter really loves Donnie and how they’re like brothers, and I found it very moving.”

That being said, Bridges did respond to the script right away, and immediately was entranced with it. He said that many people feel as if the film is a lot of improvisation, but The Dude confirms that what you see on film is all in the script. And Bridges made sure of that.

“Right on the page, it felt like improvisation. But no man, we stuck to it…when we got down to shooting, ‘Did I get the “man” in the right place? Did I add another F-bomb?’ It’s like music, you want to put it right where [the Coen Brothers] put it,” the actor said.

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The rest of the conversation feels like you somehow were invited to one of the most fun dinners ever, as Goodman, Bridges, and Buscemi discuss fan interactions (Bridges tells a funny story about a Zen master’s review of the film and The Dude), the production of the film, and working with a professional bowler (Goodman never could get it right).

And to finish it off, Bridges lovingly gives the Coen Brothers another plug for their upcoming film, which he describes as “that cowboy thing.” Obviously, he’s talking about Netflix’s upcoming “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” which hits the streaming service on November 16.