50 Fun Facts About Rudy

Which NBA legend said Rudy motivated him to work harder and that he had seen it a hundred times?

Kobe Bryant first saw the film in theaters in 1993, then kept rewatching it on tape. He credited it with pushing him to train harder than he ever had before.

Who played George Gipp in Knute Rockne, All American, the last film shot at Notre Dame before Rudy?

Ronald Reagan played the dying halfback, and reporters later nicknamed the future president the Gipper. Notre Dame then kept film crews off its campus for decades.

Which future Marvel director had his first major film role in Rudy as D-Bob, Rudy's tutor and friend?

Jon Favreau was working in Chicago improv when he landed the part, his first major film role. He went on to direct Iron Man and create The Mandalorian.

Which actor plays the title role in Rudy, years before playing a loyal hobbit in The Lord of the Rings?

Sean Astin finished the shoot covered in head-to-toe bruises from the football scenes. His stuntman fared worse and needed knee surgery by the end of filming.

In Rudy, a test arranged by Rudy's tutor D-Bob reveals that Rudy has which learning difficulty?

Dyslexia also held back the real Rudy, who only discovered he had it during his junior-college studies. Notre Dame accepted him after many tries.

What does Rudy do on the final play of his only game for Notre Dame in the film Rudy?

Rudy sacks the quarterback as time runs out, and in the real 1975 game the player he brought down was also named Rudy. It is the only statistic on his college record.

In Rudy, what do Notre Dame's seniors lay on the head coach's desk to demand that Rudy dress?

Their jerseys pile up one by one in the film's most famous scene, which never happened. The real coach had already announced at practice that Rudy would dress.

Which future Super Bowl MVP, a teammate of the real Rudy, said the crowd in Rudy never really chanted?

Joe Montana was on that Notre Dame roster years before his pro fame and later said the film's protest scene was invented too. He agreed that Rudy really did get into the game.

Which Wedding Crashers star had his first credited film role in Rudy as Notre Dame tailback Jamie O'Hara?

Vince Vaughn was billed as Vincent Vaughn for the part. On the set he met a fellow newcomer who became his co-star in Swingers three years later.

Rudy's closing caption says no other Notre Dame player since 1975 had received which honor?

Being carried off the field happened again two years after the film came out, when teammates lifted fullback Marc Edwards following an upset of USC.

What is the nickname of the Notre Dame football team that Rudy dreams of joining in the film Rudy?

Fighting Irish teams won a national championship in 1977, just two seasons after the real Rudy played his single game for the school.

In Rudy, where does Rudy work alongside his father and older brothers after finishing high school?

A steel mill was the filmmakers' choice. The real Rudy spent two years working at a power plant before he left home to chase a place at Notre Dame.

Which team are Notre Dame playing when Rudy finally takes the field in the last home game of Rudy?

Georgia Tech lost the real game 24-3 in November 1975, and Rudy was on the field for only its last three plays.

In Rudy, Rudy tries out for Notre Dame as a walk-on, meaning he joined the team without what?

An athletic scholarship is what separates recruited players from walk-ons, who can practice with a team for years and never appear in a single game.

In Rudy, which Indiana city does Rudy move to in order to chase his Notre Dame dream?

South Bend hosted six weeks of filming in late 1992, including scenes shot at a local bar called Cap N' Cork.

The star of Rudy made his film debut as Mikey Walsh in which 1985 adventure film?

The Goonies came four years after his very first acting job, a television film in which his real mother played his on-screen mother.

The actor who plays Rudy in Rudy later appeared as Bob Newby in which Netflix series?

Stranger Things cast him in its second season in 2017, and he came back in flashback scenes for the third.

The director and writer of Rudy had earlier made which 1986 film about small-town high school basketball?

Hoosiers convinced the real Rudy his story could work on screen, so he tracked down its screenwriter and kept after him until he gave in.

In Rudy, what does teaching assistant D-Bob want help with in exchange for tutoring Rudy?

Meeting girls comes easily to Rudy and not to D-Bob, so the two trade favors. D-Bob later leaves for law school in Miami but returns for the final game.

In Rudy, whose death in a workplace explosion pushes Rudy to finally pursue his Notre Dame dream?

His best friend Pete is the only person who takes Rudy's ambition seriously, and the accident comes just after Rudy's twenty-second birthday.

In which Illinois city, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago, does Rudy grow up in the film Rudy?

Joliet was played on screen by the town of Whiting, Indiana, which stood in for Rudy's hometown once the shoot moved to the Chicago area.

In the film Rudy, what is Rudy Ruettiger's real first name, which he shares with his father?

Daniel Eugene Ruettiger is his full name, and Rudy is only a nickname. The film's credits list his father's part simply as Daniel.

Which military branch did the real Rudy serve in before college, a chapter the film Rudy leaves out?

The Navy had him for two years as a yeoman on a communications command ship. Only after that, and a spell at a power plant, did he head for Indiana.

In Rudy, what does Notre Dame's offense do instead of running out the clock, so Rudy's defense can play?

The offense scores a touchdown against the head coach's orders, which sends the defense back out with twenty-seven seconds left.

At which junior college near Notre Dame does Rudy enroll first in Rudy, hoping to transfer?

Holy Cross College had opened only in 1966, mainly to educate religious brothers. It later gave the real Rudy an honorary doctorate.

In Rudy, what is the name of the stadium groundskeeper who gives Rudy a job and a place to sleep?

Fortune was not a real person: the real Rudy says the character is a combination of three different people he knew.

Which Notre Dame coach, shown in Rudy as unwilling to play Rudy, resented his portrayal in the film?

Dan Devine agreed to be written as the heavy to help the film get made. In reality he was the one who came up with the idea of dressing Rudy.

Which coach in Rudy promises Rudy he can dress for one game, then leaves Notre Dame before it happens?

Ara Parseghian won national championships at Notre Dame in 1966 and 1973, and his eleven seasons in charge are remembered as the Era of Ara.

Which priest in Rudy, a former Notre Dame president, advises Rudy to start at a nearby junior college?

Father Cavanaugh was a real figure: John Cavanaugh led the university as its president from 1946 to 1952.

In Rudy, which hometown girlfriend wants to marry Rudy but later turns up at Christmas with his brother?

Sherry wants to settle down, but Rudy tells her at a funeral that he is leaving for Indiana. She is with his brother Johnny by his first Christmas home.

In Rudy, what has the head groundskeeper never done despite years of working at Notre Dame Stadium?

He has never watched a game there because he once quit the team himself, a choice he has regretted ever since. He breaks the habit to see Rudy play.

On what type of play does Rudy first enter the final game in Rudy, before staying on for defense?

A kickoff opened the real Rudy's entire college career too: he played just three plays, the kick, an incomplete pass and the final snap.

In Rudy, how do fans in the stadium already know about Rudy's dream when they start chanting his name?

A student newspaper story spreads the word in the film. One real teammate remembers it differently and says the crowd never chanted at all.

In Rudy, how does Rudy's father share the news at work that his son has been accepted by Notre Dame?

Over a loudspeaker, he proudly tells the whole workplace, the same father who once urged Rudy to drop the idea. Three rejections had come before the acceptance.

The real Rudy Ruettiger makes a cameo in the film Rudy during the final game, appearing as what?

A fan in the stands is his part: he sits right behind the actor playing his own father. He also turns up in a photograph at the end of the film.

Which actor, known for Deliverance and as Otis in Superman, plays Rudy's father in Rudy?

Ned Beatty plays a man who insists he prefers watching Notre Dame from his living room, yet he is in the stadium on the day his son plays.

Which star of the 1990s sitcom Roc plays the Notre Dame groundskeeper who befriends Rudy in Rudy?

Charles S. Dutton discovered acting while in prison, then trained at the Yale School of Drama and reached Broadway a year after finishing there.

Which composer, an Oscar winner for The Omen, wrote the stirring orchestral score for Rudy?

Jerry Goldsmith was the filmmakers' first choice after his Oscar-nominated work on their earlier sports drama. His Rudy music has since been reused in many film trailers.

Which candidate in the 2008 US presidential race used music from Rudy as an official campaign anthem?

John McCain's campaign took a cue called Take Us Out from the Rudy score as its anthem, playing it at major events during his 2008 run for president.

In Rudy, Notre Dame's new head coach arrives after coaching which professional football team?

The Green Bay Packers had just finished a second straight losing season when he resigned in December 1974 to take the Notre Dame job.

Which actor, Oscar-nominated for The Exorcist, plays the Notre Dame coach who first backs Rudy in Rudy?

Jason Miller was a playwright first: he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for That Championship Season in the same year The Exorcist reached cinemas.

Which actress, a star of Mystic Pizza and Say Anything, plays Rudy's hometown girlfriend in Rudy?

Lili Taylor became a key figure of 1990s independent film, and Rudy reached cinemas in the same year as her role in Robert Altman's Short Cuts.

Rudy was the closing-night gala film at which city's international film festival in 1993?

Toronto screened it as the festival's closing-night film in September 1993, several weeks before it opened in American cinemas.

Which director made Rudy after winning two Emmy Awards as a producer of Hill Street Blues?

David Anspaugh met the film's screenwriter when they were fraternity brothers at Indiana University, long before their first sports drama together.

Which Johnny Cash hit, co-written by June Carter, is heard on the soundtrack of the film Rudy?

Ring of Fire shares the film's soundtrack with Creedence Clearwater Revival and Patsy Cline, alongside school songs sung by the Notre Dame Glee Club.

At which position did the real Rudy play in his single game for Notre Dame, the one dramatized in Rudy?

Defensive end is usually a job for much bigger men, yet he played it at 5 feet 6 inches and 165 pounds, wearing number 45.

Rudy's climactic crowd scene was filmed during a real Notre Dame home game against which team?

Boston College was the visiting team as 59,000 fans were asked to chant Rudy's name for the cameras.

Which NBC sitcom about a small-time thief making amends reunited three Rudy actors to parody Rudy?

My Name Is Earl brought back the film's lead actor, its groundskeeper and its stern head coach to send up their own roles.

According to Rudy's closing captions, what did five of Rudy's younger brothers go on to do?

All five went on to earn college degrees, part of a family in which the real Rudy was the third of fourteen children.

In Rudy, which honor does captain Roland Steele hand to Rudy just before the final home game?

Leading the team out of the tunnel falls to Rudy at the captain's invitation, with his family and D-Bob watching from the crowd.