Jeff Bridges hilariously resurrected his iconic slacker character “The Dude” from “The Big Lebowski” Friday as he honored his friend John Goodman at a celebration of the actor’s glittering career.
Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winner Goodman, 64, had invited his co-star in the 1998 Coen brothers’ movie as his guest speaker as he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Instead of reading out the usual sober tribute celebrities get, along with their star, Bridges took to the stage in the famously laid-back Dude’s knitted cardigan and recited a riff on the character’s graveside eulogy from the movie.
Describing Goodman as “a man of his times, a man of our times” and “a legend,” Bridges finished with a twist on the film’s most famous line — “Goodnight, sweet prince,” itself a nod to Shakespeare’s Hamlet — as he commended the star to the Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk. “A star for you, a star because we love you so well… what time is it? Afternoon? Good afternoon, sweet prince,” he said, before the actors shared a warm embrace.
“Lebowski” is one of the many highlights of a 34-year movie career that has seen Goodman acclaimed for comic and serious performances in five Coen brothers movies, as well as “King Ralph” (1990), “Arachnophobia (1991) and last year’s “10, Cloverfield Lane.”
His Walk of Fame ceremony coincided with Friday’s release of his latest film, “Kong: Skull Island,” in which he portrays an explorer who enlists a military escort for a dangerous mission to a forbidden island.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention, this week especially, the women without whom I would not be here,” Goodman told the crowd, which included his “Kong” co-star Brie Larson. “A mother who had to scrape by on survival wages to raise two kids by herself. The many teachers who tried to knock some sense into me. Some of it worked.”
Born June 20, 1952, in St. Louis, Missouri, Goodman discovered acting while he was on an American football scholarship at what is now Missouri State University.
He thanked Roseanne Barr, with whom he starred in the ABC television sitcom “Roseanne” from 1988 to 1997, earning seven Emmy nominations.
“I don’t think I’d be up here if it wasn’t for her. She really took a lot of heat, but she was always right, and I love her,” he said.
