Why John Turturro was “really embarrassed” by his 1998 ‘Big Lebowski’ performance
John Turturro isn’t proud of one of his most famous roles.
Joel and Ethan Coen have a select group of actors with whom they have enjoyed working multiple times, including Frances McDormand, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, George Clooney, and Joe Polito, and while John Turturro may have only been in four, he’s incredibly memorable in all of them, playing the titular role in the Coens’ Palme d’Or-winning dark comedy Barton Fink, a sinister gangster in the underrated gangster epic Miller’s Crossing, and one of the three brothers in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
His most iconic role within the Coens’ body of work is still as Jesus, the eccentric bowler who makes a rival of Jeff Bridges’ iconic the Dude in The Big Lebowski. Although the character has become one of the many aspects of the film that has developed a cult fandom, Turturro said that he was confused by the original pitch for what he would be doing.
“When I got the script, I was kind of disappointed,” Turturro said, “I was like, ‘There’s nothing here!’ So then I thought, ‘I better make something up because they’re all talking about him!’”
Turturro’s mind wasn’t changed when he got a first look at the film, as he thought it would be a performance that he would end up regretting for the rest of his career, adding, “The first time they showed [my scenes] to me, I was really embarrassed. I didn’t even get the movie when it came out. When I saw it, I thought [Jeff Bridges] was great, but it went over my head.”
The actor admitted that he was eventually coaxed into loving the film, which mirrors the experience of many audience members. The Big Lebowski was a significant flop when it was first released, and was considered to be a major step down for the Coens after they had won the Academy Award for ‘Best Original Screenplay’ for Fargo, while their next film, O Brother Where Art Thou?, was considered to be a major comeback, especially because its soundtrack ended up being a phenomenon in its own right.
Over time, The Big Lebowski grew a strong and passionate fanbase among those who had caught up with it on home media and cable, and it has become renowned as a masterpiece. Although it’s arguably the funniest of the Coens’ films, it also has such interesting philosophies behind it that it has actually inspired a real religion called ‘Dudeism’.
The biggest contention among fans of The Big Lebowski is regarding who gives the best performance in the film. While Buscemi, Goodman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman all have legitimate claims, Turturro’s performance as Jesus might be the single funniest, and certainly the one with the best lines.
He was eventually so enamoured with the character that he got the Coens’ permission to write, direct, and star in the spinoff film The Jesus Rolls, which was released in 2019. Loosely based on the 1974 French film Going Places, The Jesus Rolls offered more background on the character that wasn’t explored in The Big Lebowski, including the detail that he was framed for being a predator. Although the follow-up was greeted with negative reviews and bombed at the box office, there is always a chance that (like The Big Lebowski) it could develop a niche fanbase in the years to come.
