‘The Big Lebowski’ 25 Years Later: Where Are They Now?
Who knew this sleeper 1998 slacker comedy written and directed by the Coen brothers would grow to such popularity that its poster would eventually be plastered all over college students’ walls? After a lackluster domestic opening, and critics’ disappointment that it wasn’t quite like Fargo, The Big Lebowski eventually turned into a cult classic that was so popular an annual Lebowski Fest grew out of it. The cast has gone on to do amazing things, too! On the 25th anniversary of its release, we thought it would be fun to take a look at what they’ve been up to since.
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Jeff Bridges – Jeff Lebowski
Son of well-known star Lloyd Bridges and brother of fellow actor Beau Bridges, “The Dude” has celebrated hit after hit since his time playing the Los Angeles bowling enthusiast who gets caught up in a kidnapping scheme because of mistaken identity. In addition to winning an Oscar for his role as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart(2009), Jeff Bridges has starred in countless other hits, such as Oscar-nominated films True Grit (2010) and Hell or High Water (2016). Most recently, he has been playing a retired CIA agent being hunted by the agency he once worked for in the FX series The Old Man. He and longtime wife Susan Geston have three daughters and a granddaughter.
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John Goodman – Walter Sobchak
Since before The Big Lebowski, Goodman has been quite the cultural staple — but he continued his rise to fame ever more radically after the success of this film. From his reprisal as Dan Conner on The Conners, to an endless array of award-winning films — Argo, Flight, Inside Llewyn Davis and Trumbo, just to name a few (he even voiced “Big Daddy” La Bouff in the hit Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog) — Goodman’s career has only accelerated since his role as scheming veteran Walter Sobchak, the best friend of “The Dude.”
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Steve Buscemi – Donny Kerabatsos
“Mr. Pink” was already a familiar face when he got cast in his fifth Coen brothers film. He went on to appear in countless other movies before landing the starring role in the Emmy Award-winning crime drama series Boardwalk Empire as gangster Enoch “Nucky” Thompson, which aired for five seasons. Currently, he is part of the cast of the anthology comedy series Miracle Workers.
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Julianne Moore – Maude Lebowski
From her roles in hits like The Hours, Magnolia and Far From Heaven, and her Oscar-winning performance as Alice in Still Alice, Julianne Moore’s name is practically associated with top-tier acting these days. Most recently, she played Madeline in the Apple TV+ original film Sharper.
Now go pour yourself a Caucasian and enjoy this clip! Just don’t spill it on the rug because as you know, it ties the room together.