Casting What-Ifs
David Huddleston is retained as the right Big Lebowski after a list led by Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Anthony Hopkins, and Gene Hackman.
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:12Read transcript
- John Goodman and Steve Buscemi’s roles were written for them, while Jeffrey Lebowski drew the casting search.
- Marlon Brando was reportedly the Coens’ dream choice, but his improvisational production style could have disrupted the tightly scripted film.
- Robert Duvall reportedly disliked the script, Anthony Hopkins did not want to play an American, and Gene Hackman was taking an acting break.
- A second list reportedly included Norman Mailer, George C. Scott, Jerry Falwell, Gore Vidal, Andy Griffith, William F. Buckley, and Ernest Borgnine.
- The panel concludes that Huddleston was the right landing point.