THE Dude abides isn’t just a slogan for a T-shirt – it could easily describe the impact of cult classic The Big Lebowski.
The Coen Brothers 1998 film, about Jeff “The Dude”, a lazy slacker who gets mistaken as a millionaire with the same name. It has stood the test time and is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year.
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However, the last quarter-century hasn’t been kind to most of the cast.
Jeff Bridges who played Dude, the long-haired Dude, out to avenge damage to his rug nearly died of cancer and Covid two years ago.
Some of the actors in this film suffered from alcoholism, nervous breakdowns, a disastrous plastic surgery, divorces and even a death from drug overdose.
Jeff Bridges, Jeffrey Lebowski
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Two and a quarter years ago, the Oscar-winning star shocked his fans when he revealed he had cancer.
He then contracted Covid-19 during his chemotherapy and came “pretty close to dying.”
He was saved by his three daughters Isabelle, Jessica and Haley.
True Grit’s star, who also starred in Crazy Heart and Crazy Heart, is now in full remission. His tumour has shrunk.
Jeff was able to return to work on The Old Man, the TV show that had been shut down because of both his illness and the coronavirus.
John Goodman Walter Sobchak
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Roseanne, the much-loved Star of Roseanne, almost destroyed his career by drinking and using drugs.
The 70-year-old actor said: “I’ve made it more stressful by drinking and using drugs and the business I have chosen is always a nail-biter, there was a constant threat of unemployment.”
John fought with alcohol for over three decades, before finally sobering in 2007.
Regular visits to Alcoholics Anonymous, along with a steely determination not to touch another drink, have helped John’s career grow in the past decade.
The Righteous Gemstones will have a third season. In 2017, he starred in Transformers: The Last Knight as well as the action films Kong: Skull Island.
John Hartzog is married to Anna Beth Hartzog. They have a daughter Molly, who’s 32 years old.
Tara Reid Bunny Lebowski
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The American Pie actress won’t ever go under the plastic surgeon’s knife again after a boob job and liposuction went badly wrong.
Tara, 47, who needed corrective surgery in 2006, recently said: “I’m done.”
It was playing The Big Lewbowski’s kidnapped wife Bunny in 1998 and then a year later Kevin’s girlfriend in American Pie which turned Tara into a star in the late 1990s.
Recent years, her most well-known films include Sharknado and the multiple sequels.
Tara Kehayov married a Bulgarian financial Zachary Kehayov in 2011. Later that same year, the couple revealed that their union was illegal.
Tara’s last relationship was with Nathan Montpetit Howar, a 38-year old businessman.
David Thewlis Knox Harrington
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Hermine Poitou, a French designer who was married to Harry Potter’s actor two years earlier.
He dated Anna Friel from 2010 until 2014. His marriage with Welsh actress Sara Sugarman, which lasted two years in 1994, ended after just two.
David, 60, shares a seven-year-old daughter with Brookside’s Anna, Gracie.
The actor from Blackpool, who made his name in Mike Leigh’s Naked, has added novelist to his CV.
David is the author of two novels: The Late Hector Kipling and Shooting Martha.
The third and fourth Avatar blockbuster films will feature him.
Aimee – Franz Mann’s girlfriend
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After a breakdown in her mental health and two complex illnesses, the singer-actress is reviving her career.
Aimee was a German-speaking nihilist who played in The Big Lebowski. A year later, she became famous for writing a series of songs that were used by Tom Cruise to make the film Magnolia.
But she said in 2002: “I had a nervous breakdown. I was not functioning”. The cause was thought to be a heavy workload as well her turbulent childhood.
Aimee has told how she was kidnapped by her mum when she was aged three, taking her from the United States to England without her father’s knowledge.
She suffered from migraines, tinnitus and dizziness during the pandemic.
Aimee stated: “I was unable to listen music as it was so distorted.”
Finally, she could get on her bike again.
Steve Buscemi – Donny Kerabatsos
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Four years ago, the Reservoir Dogs actor watched as his wife Jo Andres battled cancer. She died four years later in 2019.
Steve, 65, said: “The pain was the hardest thing. It’s painful for those who go through it. Cancer is a painful death. There’s just no way around it.”
Lucian was 33 years old when the couple met.
Steve is best known as the kidnapper in Fargo, one of six films directed by The Coen Brothers.
Daniel Radcliffe and the former firefighter star in the TV drama Miracle Workers.
Julianne Moore – Maude Lewbowski
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Bart Freundlich and the Oscar-winning actor have been together for 26 years.
Julianne, 62, who played The Big Lebowski’s daughter Maude in the 1998 cult hit, has found happiness in the security of married life.
She said: “I’m not very eccentric, I’m pretty regular, I have two really beautiful children. I am blessed with a wonderful husband.
“I really value my ordinary life and my family life.”
Julianne prefers to be a mother to their children, Caleb, 17, and daughter Liv, 12, rather than a film star.
The Hunger Games star is an accomplished author.
Philip Seymour Hoffman Brandt
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Considered to be one of the greatest actors of his generation, Philip’s award-laden career came to an end when he took a cocktail of drugs nine years ago.
The Oscar-winning actor was found in February 2014 dead, aged 46, after consuming heroin cocaine and prescription medications.
Philip lost his life nearing the conclusion of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2.
After a stint in rehab, he managed to break the drug habit.
He began taking deadly substances again a year before he died. His partner Mimi O’Donnell was forced to leave the home they shared with their children.
Costume designer Mimi, who described him as a loving man, said: “Every day was filled with worry. Every night, when he went out, I wondered: Will I see him again?”