Jeff Bridges: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. The Dude - The Big Lebowski

Of course, if we had to pick just one Coen Brothers film to receive a sequel, we would have to pick another Jeff Bridges joint. How many actors can say that a performance of theirs has spawned costumes, bowling competitions, an annual festival, and a religion (sort of)? Outside of the Star Wars and Trek cast lists, not many. And yet all of that has sprung out of Bridges' starring role as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski in The Big Lebowski, the Coen's screwball, stoner love letter to the gumshoe detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. On paper, The Big Lebowski is a total mess. It has an ambling plot that never really goes anywhere - and the twist is that the central mystery is a total red herring, that there isn't actually a case to solve, and everything that happens over the course of the film is completely inconsequential - and a smorgasbord of ridiculous characters played in suitably broad fashion by John Goodman, Julianne Moore, John Leguizamo, and Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. What makes it work is Bridges, anchoring the insanity with his low-key, effortlessly charming and unworried performance as The Dude. You can see why so many people buy into The Dude's way of life. Not only do we have a secret love for White Russians, and a well-documented hatred of The Eagles, but the character's approach to the craziness that surrounds him - taking it all in his stride; at least, until things just get too ridiculous for him to overlook it any further - is inspiring. And we can't imagine anyone but Bridges getting all of that across. Unless maybe the Coens cast the real-life Dude who inspired the character.