His Name In The Script
Some things are just meant to be, and the role of the “stranger” in The Big Lebowski was always meant to be Elliott’s. “Well, they gave me a script. I read the script, and it says in the script, “There’s this Western voiceover, and ‘Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds” is playing in the background, and the voiceover sounds not unlike Sam Elliott.”
His Name In The Script
This is in the pages! So I read a little further on, and then this character appears, and it says, “And here’s The Stranger, looking not unlike Sam Elliott.” So it was, like, that was the pitch: “Let’s put his name in the script. Maybe he’ll bite for it.”
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Working With Jeff Bridges
If it wasn’t for The Big Lebowski, we might not have ever seen Sam Elliott playing Kermit Newman in The Contender.
Working With Jeff Bridges
The writer and director of The Contender, Rod Lurie, loved watching Elliott working with Jeff Bridges and decided to send Elliott the script for his movie.
