Sam Elliott – The Untold Story Behind The Voice And The Icon

The Big Lebowski

One of my all-time favorite movies, The Big Lebowski. Sam Elliott didn’t have a big role in the movie, but his character, ‘the stranger’, actually became one of the most well-known. The character was written up with Elliott in mind – it was him and only him who could have pulled it off. “As I opened up and read, you know – a couple of pages in, and it’s talking about this voice-over.

And it said literally on the page, the voice-over sounded not unlike Sam Elliott, and then later on when he appears in the bowling alley, here’s this guy dressed like a drugstore cowboy, looking not unlike Sam Elliott. So I guess they wrote it for me. They certainly wrote it with me in mind.”

The Big Lebowski Spin-Off

Constant rumors spread that a spin-off of the Big Lebowski is in the works somewhere. When Elliott was asked if he’d like to be recast as “The Stranger”, his answer was, “I keep hearing rumors he’s going to do one. I hope he does.

And I hope they call me. Whether the Stranger’s going to be part of it or not, I have no idea. But it would be in good hands with John, if he was running the show.”