The Big Lebowski: The Dude Is Actually Based On the Unlikeliest Real Person 

What do you get when you dress a man in a shabby old robe, give him a glass of White Russian, and send him bowling? The answer is – the classic Dude.

The main character of the movie The Big Lebowski – the Dude, played by Jeff Bridges, has become a cult figure and occupies an important place in modern culture.

With his left hand, Lebowski created a new religion called Dudeism, and with his right hand, he easily changed the stereotypical sexist opinion of the seemingly "feminine" White Russian cocktail, making it brutally masculine.

The Big Lebowski was never a big Hollywood movie– it premiered at the most popular independent film festival, Sundance.

The majority of movies shown there never reach the theaters, and those that do eventually make their way into distribution are either quickly forgotten or become cult. And The Big Lebowski is clearly a cult one.

At first it was poorly received – the movie did not get rave reviews or make a lot of money. But over the next few years it gained power and a fan base, and became the main symbol of the cinema of the nineties for many viewers.

It is known for certain that Jeff The Dude Lebowski has a real-life prototype. This is the independent film producer and political activist Jeff Dowd, with whom the Coen brothers crossed paths at the beginning of their career in 1984. And yes, he was called the Dude among his comrades. And yes, he likes his White Russian.

Jeff Dowd never became famous for anything outstanding in cinema, so movie magazines and websites only remember him in connection with The Big Lebowski, for which he became a kind of godfather.

But it must be said that the Dude we see on screen is in many ways a collective image of characteristics the Coens borrowed from their countless friends and acquaintances.

The cult status of The Big Lebowski is better demonstrated by references. One of the most recent ones can be found in Avengers: Endgame. In the movie, Thor, due to a crisis in his heroic career, leads a life very similar to Jeff’s. His fellow superhero Tony Stark points this out and calls Thor Lebowski.