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Do you recall the first time the Coen Brothers told you about this movie?
I remember hearing the title, which I figured they were going to change.
And how did they explain it to you?
It's like film noire with a usual gang of morons. I remember the
word "noire" and "Lebowski." So, uh, yeah, I figured it was gonna
be like Harvey Kurtzman style or something like that.
Do you remember the first time that you read the
script?
I remember getting pieces of it over the years. I remember that,
and just thinking it was gangbusters. I had so many people ask me
if it was improvised. I'm not that smart. [Laughs] I'm not
that good, but we got lucky and rehearsed for a couple of weeks
before we started shooting. That's why that looks so good, like
we're improvising.
Did they tell you about the real people that inspired
the character of Walter?
Not as much as I've read over the years. It really didn't matter,
because what they had on the page was so fully realized that it
didn't matter who these guys were, it didn't matter if they
existed. All that mattered was what was spelled out on the page,
and it was so vivid in my mind. Everything was spelled out for you.
It's almost idiot-proof. Almost, I say.
Do you think much at all about the back story of your
character, about why he's friends with the Dude in the first place?
They seem so different.
Obviously he's not a full human being. He's got this desperate need
to please this nice old lady. It's just pathetic. The more you
think about it, the more pathetic he is, so why go down that
road?
The Coens seem to love bad haircuts.
Yeah man, I tell you, when I did Raising Arizona they said
they wanted an "unusual look." So I grew a beard, and when I got
down there, they cut my sideburns, and then they put this pomade in
my hair that I couldn't get out unless I had Dawn dishwashing
liquid, and even then it wouldn't come out. I was still single
then, I'd go to the bars with it and try to strike up conversations
with people, and it did look like I'd just gotten out of a
correctional facility So I didn't float too much romance down in
Arizona.
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Were any Lebowski scenes shot that got cut?
Originally the Dude had somebody carry the milk out for him. They asked him if he needed help out with it, and he did. [Laughs] Do you see any moral to the movie, or a central message?
Yeah. Dude should never, ever leave his house. [Laughs] No, man, no. The Dude is a very special cat. And boy, who wouldn't want to be down like that? It's the life of a gentleman.
Do you recall the first time you had heard it was
starting to become a big phenomenon?
People had always come up to me and said they appreciated it, but I
noticed more and more in the past few years that people were
younger, and that kind of scared me because I was afraid it would
suffer some kind of odd fate like being a cult film and then being
forgotten again. I'm really glad that people appreciate it. I
wouldn't want anything bad to happen to it.
It seems to get funnier each time you see
it.
Yeah. I haven't seen it for a while, I got a real hankering to go
back. Next time I see it I want to go back and see it with other
people, because it is funnier when you see other people laugh. I
want to go to one of those conventions some time, I think that
would be fun. I've still got my shorts, got Walter's army jacket
and his vest. What else did I keep? Bowling ball, I think.
Are you stopped by fans on the street
often?
Yeah. That's mostly what they stop me for. Sometimes they?ll throw
out a line, "Shut the fuck up, Donny." Steve used to get a lot on
the subway. The more obscure the better, as far as I'm
concerned.
Do you have a favorite memory from
filming?
Most of all it's the pleasure I used to get. Night shoots are
always torture, but we'd drive up to the Valley — there was
just a good feeling of going to work on this movie. Anytime I had
to go to work I just remember feeling great, like I was going to do
something fun today. And that's rare, man. To just know that you're
gonna have a ball and it's gonna be recorded in some way.