Jeff Bridges digs the Dude’s style

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The Dude (Jeff Bridges) mellows out in “The Big Lebowski.” A flop at first, the movie’s built a fan base, to Bridges’ delight.

Updated: November 16, 2011 1:28AM

The Dude abides. In your living room.

“The Big Lebowski,” the finest comedy ever made about bowling, nihilists, a stolen rug and an Eagles-hating slacker prone to acid flashbacks, arrives Tuesday on Blu-ray.

The release of the celebrated cult favorite, starring Jeff Bridges as the Dude, coincides with the arrival of the actor’s self-titled album. He’ll join cast members John Goodman, Steve Buscemi and Julianne Moore, plus music archivist T Bone Burnett (also the new album’s producer), for a cast reunion and screening Tuesday in New York.

Among the Blu-ray extras: Bridges’ on-set photos and an onscreen counter to track the f-bombs and Dude-isms.

The 1998 film, written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, received a cool reception at theaters but has grown into a comedy classic.

“I love that movie, I loved making it, I love the Coen brothers,” Bridges says. “It was a real high point for me. It was not a hit, so it’s fascinating that there are now ‘Lebowski’ festivals. I had my Beatles moment when I played a Lebowski fest in front of a sea of Dudes.”

To countless fans, Bridges is the Dude, an impression he found worrisome.

“Early in my career, I was concerned about not developing a strong persona,” he says. “Because my father [Lloyd Bridges] was so good in ‘Sea Hunt,’ people thought he was Mike Nelson. I saw how frustrating it was for him. He was a singer, a Shakespearean actor, a comedian, but he got stuck in a small niche.”

Bridges deliberately sought wide-ranging film characters “to pleasantly confuse the audience and make it easier for them to accept me in different roles,” he says. “Now I’m 61 and I don’t give a s---. I’m going to do what I’m going to do. I don’t have anything to prove.”

The album (on Blue Note) is his second after “Be Here Soon,” a shambolic set of rock and soul, released in 2000 on his own label to little fanfare (3,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan). But it’s his first since Bridges won an Oscar for playing broken-down country singer Bad Blake in “Crazy Heart” (2009) and contributing several songs to the soundtrack.

To those who might deem the album self-indulgent, Bridges says, “Everything is vanity, isn’t it? The guy who set the benchmark for the so-called vanity project is William Shatner. I applaud him for saying, ‘This is interesting.’ There’s something wonderful about that. And caring what people say? I guess I do, but I try not to care too much.”

Gannett News Service