Jeff Bridges will always be associated with one of his best-loved roles – The Dude, or Duder, or El Duderino, if you’re not into that whole brevity thing – in the Coen Brothers’ comedy movie The Big Lebowski. Bridges seems so laid back, that fans have wondered where Jeff stops and The Dude begins. There is at least one area that Bridges brought himself into the role – and that’s in what The Dude wore.
Speaking to Larry King, Bridges said “A lot of it was (my own clothing). Those jellies were mine – the shoes were mine. Some of those T-shirts. Mary Zophres is the costumer for a lot of the Coen Brothers films. She came over to my house, I said ‘why don’t we just look in my closet, I know this stuff fits me’ and she goes [gestures picking out clothes] ‘I’ll take this, and this.'”
Mary Zophres can be seen and heard in a video at The Academy Museum in Los Angeles talking about The Dude’s look, especially the dressing gown that he wears for much of the movie. The dressing gown is also on display there.
After working together for 35 years, the Coen Brothers have recently gone solo. Joel Coen directed The Tragedy of Macbeth without his brother, but with his wife Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth. Ethan is currently in-development on a solo project, and will reunite with his brother Joel for The Zebra-Striped Hearse.
Jeff Bridges’ adult film career began in 1971 with The Last Picture Show. In the 80s he starred in classics such as Cutter’s Way, TRON, Against All Odds, Starman, and The Fabulous Baker Boys with his brother Beau. 1998’s The Big Lebowski introduced him to a whole new generation of film-lovers.
If you’re a fan of the Coens, check out our guide to the best 90s movies.