John Goodman Recalls Being Nervous For Big Lebowski’s Car Smashing Scene
John Goodman recalls feeling incredibly nervous about filming the car-smashing scene from The Big Lebowski. Released in 1998 to lukewarm critical reception, The Big Lebowski has since gone down in history as one of the most significant cult classic movies of all time. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey Lebowski, a.k.a. The Dude, the film follows a slacker's attempt to get compensation for his ruined rug after debt collectors mistake him for a wealthy elite with the same name.
In the film, Goodman plays Vietnam War veteran Walter Sobchak, a close friend/bowling partner to The Dude. Sobchak's time in the war has left him paranoid and prone to extreme outbursts, which is displayed perhaps most memorably in a scene where he violently smashes up a Corvette with a crowbar. After Larry, a young boy, refuses to give up information regarding a missing briefcase, Walter takes a crowbar to the car on the street outside while swearing and yelling, "You see what happens, Larry?!" The Big Lebowski remains relevant even today, but a recent spinoff movie, The Jesus Rolls, which is not directed by the Coens, largely failed to live up to the expectations set up by the original film.
Related: The Big Lebowski: Is The Stranger Imaginary?
In a new Vanity Fair career retrospective, Goodman reveals that he was "worried to death" about filming the car-smashing scene. Not only would he have to yell a number of vulgar obscenities, but he would have to do it in the middle of the night in a quiet residential neighborhood. Goodman reveals that his worries were quickly alleviated after he discovered that the Coens had paid to relocate the neighborhood's residents for the night. Check out Goodman's full comment below:
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