The Dude Survives: Jeff Bridges on the Enduring "Big Lebowski"

I'd be curious to hear a bit more about how the Dude is similar to you and how he's different.
Well, I think our basic philosophies are the same. I bet the Dude is into some Eastern philosophy. You know he's got some Buddhist books on his shelf. But it's kinda like realizing that the more open you get, life keeps challenging that openness to open you more, and so, at some point, you say, "Well, that's the game. I'm just gonna sit back and dig the way it is." The next movie I did after Lebowski was The Contender, I think. To play the President after playing the Dude — it was kind of like the antithesis of the Dude, you know?

This is one of the biggest cult movies of the past few decades. What's at the root of that?
Well, maybe a part of it is that it wasn't a success when it came out. I think there's a real joy in going to see movies when you discover them yourself. If somebody hasn't seen The Big Lebowski, you say, "Oh great, you've got something great in store for you." It's something that gives joy to the person who's turning them on to the movie, joy for the people who're seeing it. Maybe that's it — something that you kind of share.

You briefly met the real Dude, right?
Yeah. I know that the Coen brothers based a lot of their stuff on Jeff in the writing of it. I met him and liked him very much, but I didn't model myself too much after him. I used myself, and some friends of mine that reminded me of the Dude. When I'm preparing for a role, the first place I look is my own self, and then I just find I'm looking at the world through the lens of this movie, and anything that might pertain to it, like a sponge, I kind of soak it up.

It seems the Coens are two of the very few directors who can do what they want to do and not get touched by the outside system.
Come to think of it they're pretty Dude-like, aren't they? You know, in the mellowness, and wishing and wanting to keep things kind of loose and mellow.

Do you like Creedence Clearwater Revival and dislike the Eagles?
[Laughs] I love Creedence and, you know, as far as the Eagles, I don't hate the Eagles like the Dude hates them. I remember I ran into Glenn Frey, he gave me some shit. I can't remember what he said exactly, but you know, my anus tightened a bit.

At what point in your life that you were living most Dude-like?
I didn't go to college, I kind of got into the movies. There was a time when I was living in a small studio apartment in Santa Monica, and did some art, smoking quite a bit and hanging out with my friends. We used to have these things called "Wednesday Night Jams," we did this for like 15 years or so after high school. No songs allowed, just jams, you know? But it's some wild stuff. I had a group of friends, kinda like Donny and Walter — my brand of those guys.