For fans of the cult classic ‘The Big Lebowski,’ the movie was perfect in every way, so some Lebowski enthusiasts may be shocked to learn one of the film’s most famous characters was almost played by another actor. The character Brandt Joel, which eventually went to Phillip Seymour Hoffman, almost went to another big name; Owen Wilson.
Rachael Horovitz, an award winning Producer who once worked at New line Cinema, recently unearthed a long lost letter, asking Owen Wilson to consider the role on Brandt in ‘The Big Lebowski.’ Wilson, who was on Wes Anderson’s ‘Rushmore’ at the time, a film he wrote based on his time at Dallas prep school St. Marks of Texas.
New Line Cinema was developing ‘Rushmore,’ and Wilson was having his mail forwarded to Horovitz’ office, which is why the letter ended up in the producer’s hands all these years later. The letter mentions the title role was going to Jeff Bridges, while John Goodman and Steve Buscemi would be included in the cast as well.
For fans of ‘The Big Lebowski’ the role of Brandt Joel going to anyone other than Phillip Seymour Hoffman seems insane. When asked about the letter, Horovitz said, “I don’t know if he even read the Coen Bros. script.” Luckily, the role did end up going to another great actor, but one can imagine how the movie might have turned out with Owen Wilson in the cast.
Via Page Six