Fans of The Big Lebowski have shared a wild theory about Steve Buscemi’s character Donny – and even the actor himself is convinced.
The 1998 film follows the life of Jeffrey ‘The Dude’ Lebowski, an avid bowler who is assaulted in a case of mistaken identity, before learning a millionaire who shares the same name was the intended victim.
Jeff Bridges stars as The Dude and his bowling partners, Walter Sobchak and Donny Kerabatsos, are played by John Goodman and Steve respectively.
But it has long been speculated by fans of the 1998 film that Donny does not actually exist and is merely a figment of Walter’s imagination.
Fans have taken to Reddit over the years to share their evidence pointing to the theory.
One post shared: ‘He doesn’t interact with anyone but Walter, the Dude ignores him, the only other bowling team mentioned has two members, not three, in the altercation with the Corvette owner, he doesn’t care there’s a person inside the car he’s smashing, and the nihilists don’t go after him in their fight.
Fans of The Big Lebowski have shared a wild theory about Steve Buscemi’s character Donny – and even the actor himself is convinced
It has long been speculated by fans of the 1998 film that Donny does not actually exist and is merely a figment of Walter’s imagination
‘After Walter yells “man down”, the Dude guesses Donny was shot despite the lack of blood, as though he can’t see him.
‘He doesn’t have a funeral, the Dude just goes along with the memorial and trip to the mortuary to humor Walter and let him peacefully excise his imaginary friend that he created after the stress of Vietnam.’
Donny himself, actor Steve, even previously hinted he’s convinced by the theory, saying: ‘Donny is just a figment of Walter’s imagination;
His co-star, who played Walter Sobchak, John reportedly replied, “Shut the fuck up, Donny!”
However the film’s writers, Ethan and Joel Coen, rubbished the theory when asked about it back in 2016.
Ethan said to Huffpost: ‘Really? No, I haven’t heard that. But doesn’t The Dude get covered by Donny’s ashes at the end of the movie?’
‘So what’s in the urn?’ his brother Joel added.
‘Well, you could say any of the characters are imaginary if you wanna stretch it that far,’ Ethan added.
Donny himself, actor Steve (Pictured as Donny), even previously hinted he’s convinced by the theory, saying: ‘Donny is just a figment of Walter’s imagination’
Jeff Bridges stars as The Dude and his bowling partners, Walter Sobchak and Donny Kerabatsos, are played by John Goodman and Steve respectively (Jeff and John pictured)
Meanwhile Jeff, who starred as The Dude, also addressed the theory as he reunited with John and Steve for the film’s 20th anniversary in 2018.
‘He’s a figment of Walter’s imagination. He’s an old war buddy that died,’ Jeff laughed.
‘If you think [about it], I don’t ever really relate to [Donny]. I think I say, “Thank you Donny” when you say the phone is ringing.
‘I could just say that to just be busting Walter’s chops. I play along with it. “Thank you Donny!”‘
Just last year lead actor Jeff revealed that he is very much interested in making a sequel to the film, decades after the beloved thriller came out – and that his costar Julianne Moore even ‘fantasises’ about doing one.
While the film wasn’t a huge success at the worldwide box office at the time, grossing $46.7million against a budget of $15million, it fast became a cult favourite due its eccentric characters, comedic dream sequences, idiosyncratic dialogue, and eclectic soundtrack.
And now – almost three decades later – Jeff, 75, has admitted that he’d ‘absolutely’ be down should a sequel ever get the greenlight.
Speaking to audiences at The Big Lebowski Screening: An Evening with The Dude at The Orpheum Theatre on April 16 in Los Angeles, California, he said ‘of course’ he’s interested in making another movie.
‘Julianne and I would fantasise about that,’ he continued.
‘We did another movie together, Seventh Son, she played a witch in that movie. And we would often say, “Gee it’s all set up for a sequel.”
‘But no, I don’t think the brothers are going to do that. I don’t think that’s their style. But I must say, they surprise us all the time.
‘Who would have thought Macbeth would have come out of one of those guys? You never know what they’re going to do so who knows.
‘If they called me up and said, “Hey let’s do it again,” I’d say, “Absolutely, come on.”‘
