History Characters / TheBigLebowski

!!!'''Played by:''' '''Creator/SteveBuscemi

* {{Hypocrite}}: The crux of his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the Dude is that where the Dude's a lazy slacker who hasn't accomplished anything, he is a successful SelfMadeMan who built everything he has himself despite being deprived of the use of his legs. [[spoiler:It turns out he just married into money and likes to act the role.]]

* MockMillionaire: [[spoiler:He doesn't actually have much money to his own name; it all comes from his late wife's estate and is largely handled by his daughter. He plays the part of a millionaire anyway because he likes throwing his weight around. Maude even says the few times he was given the chance to make money for himself, he screwed up badly]]

* PhraseCatcher:

->''Lebowski? That's your name, Dude!''

-->"Jeffrey Lebowski? That's your name, Dude!"

[[caption-width-right:300: "The Dude abides."]]

[[caption-width-right:300: "Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?! '''MARK IT ZERO!'''"]]

-->Played by: '''Creator/JeffBridges'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/JohnGoodman'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/SteveBuscemi'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/DavidHuddleston'''\\
Dubbed by: '''Creator/WilliamSabatier''' (European French)

-->Played by: '''Creator/JulianneMoore'''

\\

-->Played by: '''Creator/PhilipSeymourHoffman'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/PeterStormare''', '''[[Music/RedHotChiliPeppers Flea]]''' and '''Torsten Voges'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/TaraReid'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/BenGazzara'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/MarkPellegrino''' and '''Philip Moon'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/JohnTurturro'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/SamElliott'''

-->Played by: '''Creator/JonPolito'''

* BadassBaritone: When it's Sam Elliott talking, this goes without saying.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a complete asshole, but if pointed in the right direction, it's clear that most of the things Walter does are because he genuinely cares about the Dude. He also sometimes treats Donny in a more polite and affably way.

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: The reason the Dude gets in as much trouble with the police as he does is because the Big Lebowski is well-liked among the populace.

* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Just as the film is a DeconstructiveParody of the FilmNoir, the Dude can be seen as a spoof of the classic Film Noir protagonist. While most noir protagonists are rough around the edges, tough as nails and dedicated to the mysteries that they involve themselves in, The Dude is a laid-back stoner with a penchant for home decor and is unwittingly forced into situations that he has no place in nor wants any part of.

* TheFoil: To the Dude. Both say "fuck" a lot and are more concerned with bowling than with other, logically pressing matters in their lives, but where the Dude is laid back and accepting of whatever obstacles come his way in the league, the Jesus is animated and aggressive over a slight delay in a match.

* TheComicallySerious: Always refers to the Dude as "Dude", even when discussing the terms of a ransom handoff in a dead-serious tone.

* AffectionateNickname: Nicknames himself "The Dude." and prefers to be known as such. Notably, the only characters other than Walter and Donny to call him "Dude" are Brandt, the Stranger, and Jackie Treehorn. Everyone else calls him either "Lebowski" or "Mr. Lebowski," while Maude calls him "Jeffrey."

* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: He refers to the person who blew his legs off as a "Chinaman"[[note]]Though it should be noted that large number of Chinese volunteers ''did'' fight on the North Korean side, so his statement may not be inaccurate; Also, the Dude uses that terminology himself[[/note]] and is extremely prejudiced towards the lower/working class, who he considers to be "lazy bums."

'''Walter:''' Shut the fu-- when're we playing?

* MistakenIdentity: Due to his [[NamesTheSame name being the same]] as a millionaire living in the same area. In fact, Jackie Treehorn's goons mixing the two up is what kickstarts the plot.

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: He's more of a villain in the Dude's personal life than he is a villain in the movie's actual plot. Taken to a meta level on [[{{Bowlderise}} televised broadcasts]], where his entire character is cut without changing a thing.

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: He's more of a villain in the Dude's personal life than he is a villain in the movie's actual plot. Taken to a meta level on {{Bowlderise televised broadcasts}}, where his entire character is cut without changing a thing.

* PlotIrrelevantVillain: He's more of a villain in the Dude's personal life than he is a villain in the movie's actual plot.

-->'''Walter:''' Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, but at least it's an ethos.

-->"Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism dude, at least it's an ethos."

* PhraseCatcher: "Shut the fuck up, Donny!"

* TheWatson: Subverted, he's LockedOutOfTheLoop. "You have no frame of reference. You're like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie, and wants to know..."

* {{Jerkass}}: He gets constantly called out on his obnoxiousness and The Dude once on passing (see IResembleThatRemark above). They pay little mind to [[ClusterFBomb mild language]].

* CoolPet: Uli's ferret, which is used to threaten The Dude in his bath.