Jeff Bridges may be an on-screen legend after his performance in The Big Lebowski, but another actor was considered before him.
An Academy Award-winner who would feature in some of the biggest Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s was first offered the role.
Though he turned it down and directing duo Ethan and Joel Coen would opt for Bridges, fans were stunned to realise the veteran screen legend had been considered for the part.
It may have been a very different film with him in the mix, though the brothers’ first choice for the role never came to be.
A post to the r/TodayILearned Reddit page saw fans share their surprise at the Academy Award-winning director, Mel Gibson, being first choice for the role.
The post reads: “Mel Gibson was the Coen Brothers’ first choice to play The Dude in The Big Lebowski.” Fans were split on whether Gibson would have been the right choice for the role.
One person wrote: “Jesus…” Another added: “You said it, man.”
A third chimed in: “The unfortunate thing is that Mel Gibson is/was actually a very good actor. Beyond the action roles, he was excellent in Hamlet, The Man Without a Face, The Year of Living Dangerously and a few other smaller movies like that.
“I could actually see him doing a really good job as Walter (not so much as The Dude though).” Walter would be played by screen legend John Goodman, though some fans believe not casting Gibson at all was a bullet dodged by the Coen Brothers.
Another fan wrote: “Wow, dodged a bullet with that. I can’t imagine how he would have done it.”
While someone else added: “I’m so happy that he didn’t take the part. The movie is absolutely perfect the way it is, Dude. Also, Walter was an excellent choice for Goodman too.”
It has been suggested the pitch to Gibson left the actor unimpressed. He reportedly did not take the Coen Brothers’ pitch seriously and passed on the film as a result.
The Big Lebowski has since become a cult classic and is considered one of the best films of all time. The film was so influential it inspired its own religion, Dudeism, which has hundreds of thousands of “Dudeist Priests”.
The church was founded in 2005 and is known as The Church of the Latter-Day Dude. Its goal is reportedly to spread the lifestyle of the film’s protagonist, known only as The Dude.
Bridges, who was hailed for his work in the film, would reprise his role as The Dude briefly for a commercial broadcast during the Super Bowl LIII. He featured in a five-second clip for a Stella Artois advertisement.