9 Extreme Movie Characters You Won't Believe Were Based on Real People

6. Jeff €œThe Dude€ Lebowksi (The Big Lebowski)

€œEver heard of the Seattle Seven? That was me . . . and ,uh, six other guys.€ So says The Dude when Maude asked him to tell her something about himself. This interesting little nugget of information provided by the film€™s Jeffrey €œThe Dude€ Lebowski is actually taken from the real life inspiration for the character - Jeff €œThe Dude€ Dowd. Dubbed €œThe Dude€ early in life due to similar sounding of his last name, Dowd helped the Coen brothers secure distribution for their first film Blood Simple. and the friendship/inspiration grew from there. Though Dowd never drank White Russians, everything else about the iconic cult character is straight from real life Dude. Dowd says of Jeff Bridges€™ portrayal, €œThe body language is 100% me. When my daughter saw the film, she said €˜Daddy, where€™d they get your clothes?€ Dowd revels in his relationship to the film, often appearing at Lebowski Fest celebrations and speaking tours sharing his experiences.
 
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Chris lives in New Orleans. He writes for several local publications and national websites - mostly about film, television, books, music, food, special events, and pop culture. Since writing unfortunately never pays much, he pays the bills with his day job in marketing.