"When I was offered the part of The Dude in 'The Big Lebowski' (1998), I went through a big thing in my head worrying if this was going to be a bad example for my girls. The guy was kind of an anti-hero, a pot-smoking, slacker kind of guy, and I was really racking my brain about it. I always want to feel free to play any role, a despicable guy or a good guy -- the full range of human experience. But this one was really giving me problems. So I assembled the family and told them my problem. After a long pause, my middle girl said, 'Dad, you're an actor. We know that it's all pretend what you do. We know that when you kiss some lady on the screen that you still love Mom. We know you're an actor.' So I had their permission, their blessing, to go play a character like The Dude. That was great that they understood that. And I count on the audiences to understand that what I do in my personal life and what I do on the screen are not some kind of example for them to base their lives on. Hopefully, when people see a movie, they know it's a movie."

The Dude was based on independent film promoter Jeff "The Dude" Dowd, who helped the Coen brothers secure distribution for their first feature, "Blood Simple" (1984). Like his fictional counterpart, Dowd was a member of the Seattle Seven, and takes a casual approach to grooming and dress. The Port Huron Statement of which The Dude refers to himself as being one of the original authors, is a real document and statement written by The Students for a Democratic Society at a national convention meeting in, Michigan, June 11-15, 1962. Jeff Dowd was not one of those students, being twelve-years-old, as he was born on November 20, 1949.

According to Alex Belth, who wrote the e-book, "The Dudes Abide", on his time spent working as an assistant to the Coen Brothers, casting the role of Jeffrey Lebowski was one of the last decisions made before filming. Names tossed around for the role included Robert Duvall (who passed because he wasn't fond of the script), Anthony Hopkins (who passed, since he had no interest in playing an American), and Gene Hackman (who was taking a break at the time). A second "wish list" included an oddball "who's who", including Norman Mailer, George C. Scott, Jerry Falwell, Gore Vidal, Andy Griffith, William F. Buckley, and Ernest Borgnine. The Coens' ultimate Big Lebowski, however, was Marlon Brando. The Coens amused themselves by quoting some of their favorite Jeffrey Lebowski lines ("Strong men also cry") in a Brando imitation.

Before filming a scene, Jeff Bridges would frequently ask the Coen brothers "Did the Dude burn one on the way over?" If they said he had, he would rub his knuckles in his eyes before doing a take to make his eyes appear bloodshot.

A lot of the Dude's clothes in the movie were Bridges's own clothes, including his Jellies sandals, which he still owns and uses to this day. (IMDb)

Happy Birthday, Jeff Bridges!