Hear Me Out: ‘The Big Lebowski’ was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s greatest performance
It is a matter of fact that Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the greatest actors to ever grace our screens. The Academy Award winner flexed his performative muscles in a number of excellent pictures, including Capote and Charlie Wilson’s War. Hoffman was also widely celebrated for his collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson on a number of his features, including The Master, Magnolia and Boogie Nights.
While Hoffman’s brilliance was undoubted when he played the lead role in any given feature, it was often his supporting positions that drew similar acclaim. One such role was in the Coen brothers’ 1998 comedy The Big Lebowski. Naturally, the likes of Jeff Bridges and John Goodman stole the headlines with the Dude-centric film, but Hoffman’s performance as Brandt is arguably his best-ever on-screen appearance.
Discussing his audition for the role, Hoffman told Rolling Stone: “I remember having a good time; I think I went in twice. I remember the Coen brothers laughing a lot. I was just kind of enjoying the writing; I remember that. I had a good time with what they wrote and the character. I was worried what I was doing was too much, but I left really feeling good about it.”
And that notion of doing “too much” is evident in Hoffman’s performance, although he didn’t need to worry, as that maximalist approach to acting is certainly what made it one of his most memorable. Hoffman plays Brandt, the personal assistant to Jeff ‘The Big’ Lebowski (the character The Dude has been mistaken for).
Upon meeting Brandt when The Dude is summoned to ‘The Big’ Lebowski’s house, we are treated to a true dichotomy between their characteristics. The Dude is undeniably laid back, stoned and chilled, while Brandt is uptight, prim and proper, as every PA worth their salt ought to be. But the brilliance of the character is how Hoffman exquisitely plays him.
Three scenes, in particular, live long in the memory. The first is when Brandt shows The Dude around ‘The Big’ Lebowski’s house and points out his achievements adorning the wall. Naturally, The Dude is scuffling around in his jelly shoes while Brandt constantly adjusts his tie. It’s that minor attention to detail that made Hoffman one of the best in his craft.
Who could forget that famous laugh delivered by Hoffman when The Dude meets Bunny near the swimming pool? Brandt is clearly embarrassed by the outrageous flirting between the two, but rather than try to split it up, he can only express his awkwardness by expelling even more cringe-inducing laughter. It is a theme that he regularly employs throughout other significant moments with The Dude, almost at the point of breakdown at his sloppiness, but too polite to actually call him out on it.
Finally, there is the moment at which The Dude is thrown into the back of the limousine with ‘The Big’ Lebowski and Brandt. Lebowski is furious with The Dude for losing his ransom money, but Brandt offers an almost friendly reaction by calling him “Dude”, for instance. Throughout this scene, as Lebowski shouts at The Dude, Brandt appears terribly nervous, flinching and adjusting his glasses each time Lebowski raises his voice.
The true brilliance of Hoffman is in the fact that he never stops acting; he is completely committed to the role. However, special mention ought to go to the Coen brothers’ excellent script and scrupulous attention to detail. Discussing their ability as directors, Hoffman said: “They’re on top of it; they know what they’re doing. I never showed up when they weren’t completely prepared.”
He added: “And since they create a storyboard for every camera angle, you know exactly how they’re going to show it too, and so you don’t have to ask a lot of questions about it. You kind of know already, which is what I liked about working with them.”
So through both his own brilliance as an actor and the Coen brothers’ excellent writing and direction, Hoffman delivered arguably one of his best and most memorable performances in The Big Lebowski, somehow competing with John Goodman and Jeff Bridges’ larger-than-life characters with a subtlety that only a master actor could muster.
