How ‘The Big Lebowski’ and John Lennon defined Winona Ryder: “It’s a zen thing”
Winona Ryder has had a career of ups and downs. After finding early success with Beetlejuice and the 1994 Little Women, her public image took a major nosedive when she was convicted of shoplifting. Thankfully, she was able to weather the storm of unfair media criticism and, thanks to a little help from Stranger Things, is now a respected and beloved elder stateswoman of the acting scene.
Over her long and tempestuous career, Ryder has often sought comfort in culture. She has spoken in the past about her love for the TV show The Wire, claiming to have watched it “hundreds of times“. Other than that, she has two other sources of joy to which she has returned many times over the years, both of which have provided her solace in troubled moments.
“You know what I learned, though, which is so interesting, is that you can prepare for years. You can do everything ‘right.’ You can do every type of research and reconnaissance, and if you’re not in the moment, or if the person you’re working with isn’t present with you, it all just crumbles away,” she told Collider while discussing her career. “I do feel that research and all of that is important, and to be prepared: obviously, knowing your lines and everything, but I do find that the most important thing is to be present.”
She then reinforced this belief with a little help from the Coen brothers. “There’s a line from The Big Lebowski, it’s a zen thing,” she explained. “You have to be present because if you’re not, then you’re waiting to say your line, or you’re waiting for them to finish their line. So it’s all about being present, and you get that when you work with great actors, which is fantastic, but I try to do that as well. And I try to do that in my life too.”
The main character of the Coens’ zany, genre-hopping cult classic, Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, is the living embodiment of ‘chill’. He cares not for frivolous things like responsibilities or work, instead dedicating his time to drinking White Russians and perfecting his 7-10 split down at the bowling alley. While ‘The Dude’, played to perfection by Jeff Bridges, probably isn’t the best role model—his biggest aspiration in life is to replace his pee-stained rug—there’s still a lot to be learned from his carefree existence.
Ryder is clearly a big fan of the Coens’ work. She auditioned for a part in their 1994 film The Hudsucker Proxy but lost out to Jennifer Jason Leigh. The minds behind Fargo and No Country for Old Men aren’t the only ones she looks to for inspiration, however. “One of the quotes that I like the most and I try to live by is John Lennon,” she says. “‘Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans’. It’s happening. It’s right now, like right this minute even while we’re talking, so it’s important that I’m listening to you. You know what I mean? It’s just, to me, that is a very important way to work and an important way to live.”
They might have had some pretty turbulent personal lives, but ‘The Dude’ and John Lennon are far from the worst people to take advice from. They seem to be working for Ryder, anyway, and you can’t say fairer than that.
