John Goodman is one of those actors who you can barely remember producing a bad performance in a big film.
The larger-than-life American boasts a film career going back more than 30 years, but for many fans he will always be Walter Sobchak, the perpetually angry Vietnam veteran from the Coen brothers classic The Big Lebowski
As Goodman turns 63 we thought now was the perfect time to pick out a few highlights from the film that endeared him to cinema audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.
“This is not ‘Nam”
While undoubtedly a very vocal man, Sobchak also had a penchant for asking his friends at the end of a tirade: “am I wrong?”
Whatever happened earlier in the rant, the final words uttered before “am I wrong?” would always be accurate, however mundane.
“You’re like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie”
The interactions between Walter and Donny (played by Steve Buscemi) are a highlight of the film, with the former’s dismissive attitude helping punctuate some major moments.
This clip shows Goodman at his sweary best, blending foul-mouthed rants with sensitivity about “preferred nomenclature” in a manner few could even hope to emulate.
“These men are cowards”
These days, fight scenes are often carefully choreographed, stunning set pieces which make or break a film.
This is not one of those scenes.
