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Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell was Sylvester Stallone's original choice for Church in The Expendables (2010), but he turned it down.
To go on about acting as art is ridiculous. If it is an art, then it's a very low form. You don't have to be gifted just to hit a mark and say a line. And as far as I'm concerned, hitting my marks and knowing my lines is 90% of the job. I'm always criticized for talking like that. Maybe the reason I do it is that I never got the chance to develop a real desire to act. I was acting by the time I was nine so it seemed like a natural thing to do. Anyone who finds acting difficult just shouldn't be doing it.
- Kurt Russell
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Kurt Vogel Russell
17 March 1951, Springfield, Massachusetts
Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American television and film actor. His first acting roles were as a child in television series, including a lead role in the Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). In the 1970s, he signed a ten-year contract with the Walt Disney Company, where he became, according to Robert Osborne, the "studio's top star of the '70s". In 1979, Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for the made-for-television film Elvis.
In 1983, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his performance opposite Meryl Streep in the 1984 film, Silkwood. During the 1980s, Russell was cast in several films by director John Carpenter, including anti-hero roles such as former army hero-turned robber Snake Plissken in the futuristic action film Escape from New York, Antarctic helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the horror film The Thing (1982), and truck driver Jack Burton in the dark kung-fu comedy/action film Big Trouble in Little China (1986), all of which have since become cult films.
In 1994, he had a starring role in the military/science fiction film Stargate. In the mid-2000s, his portrayal of U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in Miracle (2004) won the praise of critics. In 2006, he appeared in the disaster-thriller Poseidon, and in 2007 Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof segment from the film Grindhouse.
Russell was born on March 17, 1951, in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of Louise Julia (née Crone), a dancer; and Bing Russell, a character actor, best known for playing Deputy Clem Foster on Bonanza. In the mid-1960s, Russell graduated from Thousand Oaks High School.
Russell began his career in the late 1950s with an appearance as a child in the pilot of the ABC western television series Sugarfoot with Will Hutchins. His film career began at the age of eleven in an uncredited part in Elvis Presley's It Happened at the World's Fair and two extra episodes, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the then defunct series 'Rin Tin Tin. On April 24, 1963, Russell guest starred in the ABC series Our Man Higgins, starring Stanley Holloway as an English butler in an American family. He appeared in 1963 as Peter Hall in the episode "Everybody Knows You Left Me" on the NBC medical drama about psychiatry The Eleventh Hour.
Later in 1963, he landed a big part for a juvenile actor: the lead role as Jaimie in the ABC Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). Based on a book by Robert Lewis Taylor, the series starred Dan O'Herlihy, John Maloney, and the young Osmond Brothers. Charles Bronson became a semi-regular in the series. In 1964, he guest-starred in "Nemesis", an episode of the popular ABC series The Fugitive in which, as the son of police Lt. Phillip Gerard, he is unintentionally kidnapped by his father's quarry, Doctor Richard Kimble. That same year he appeared on The Virginian as a mistaken orphan whose father was an outlaw played by Rory Calhoun who was still alive and recently released from prison looking for his son. He played a similar role as a kid named Packy Kerlin in the 1964 episode "Blue Heaven" of the western series Gunsmoke.
On February 6, 1965, Russell, not quite fourteen, played the role of Jungle Boy on an episode of CBS's Gilligan's Island. He guest starred on ABC's western The Legend of Jesse James. In 1967, he, Jay C. Flippen, and Tom Tryon appeared in the episode "Charade of Justice" of the NBC western series The Road West starring Barry Sullivan. In a March 1966 episode of CBS's Lost in Space entitled "The Challenge", he played Quano, the son of a planetary ruler. In the same year he played a starring role in Disney's Follow Me, Boys!. He then went on to star in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band and The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, the latter of which spawned two sequels: Now You See Him, Now You Don't in 1972 and The Strongest Man in the World in 1975.
In 1971, he co-starred as a young robber released from jail, alongside James Stewart in Fools' Parade. Russell was soon signed to a ten-year contract with the Walt Disney Company, where he became, according to Robert Osborne, the "studio's top star of the '70s". He later auditioned for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars but lost the role to Harrison Ford.
In the autumn of 1976, Russell appeared with Tim Matheson in the 15-episode NBC series The Quest, the story of two young men in the American West seeking the whereabouts of their sister, a captive of the Cheyenne.
Russell, like his father, had a baseball career. In the early 1970s, Russell played second base for the California Angels minor league affiliates, the Bend Rainbows, Walla Walla Islanders, Portland Mavericks and El Paso Sun Kings. During a play, he was hit in the shoulder by a player running to second base; the collision tore the rotator cuff in Russell's right/throwing shoulder. Before his injury, he was leading the Texas League in hitting, with a .563 batting average. The injury forced his retirement from baseball in 1973 and led to his return to acting.
In 1979, Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for the made-for-television film Elvis. This would be his first pairing with John Carpenter, the director of Halloween. Although Russell did not perform the singing vocals in the series—which were provided by country music artist Ronnie McDowell—he would later go on to provide the voice of Elvis Presley in the 1994 film Forrest Gump.
Over the 1980s, Russell would team with Carpenter several times, helping create some of his best-known roles, usually as anti-heroes, including the infamous Snake Plissken of Escape from New York and its sequel, Escape from L.A.. Among their collaborations was 1982's The Thing, based upon the short story Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr., which had been interpreted on film before, albeit loosely, in 1951's The Thing from Another World. In 1986, the two made Big Trouble in Little China, a dark kung-fu comedy/action film in which Russell played a truck driver caught in an ancient Chinese war. While the film was a financial failure like The Thing, it has since gained a cult audience.
Elvis Presley connections have run like a thread through his career. Aside from appearing as a child in one of Presley's films and giving a convincing portrayal of the singer in the 1979 television biopic, Russell starred as an Elvis impersonator involved in a Las Vegas robbery in 3000 Miles to Graceland and provided the voice of Elvis for a scene in Forrest Gump.
Russell is one of the very few famous child stars in Hollywood who has been able continue his acting career past his teen years. Russell received award nominations well into middle age. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his performance opposite Meryl Streep in the 1984 film, Silkwood.
In 1994, Russell starred as Colonel Jack O'Neil in the military science fiction film Stargate.
His portrayal of U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in the 2004 film, Miracle, won the praise of critics. "In many ways," wrote Claudia Puig of USA Today, "Miracle belongs to Kurt Russell." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times wrote, "Russell does real acting here." Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Russell's cagey and remote performance gives Miracle its few breezes of fresh, albeit methane-scented, air."
In 2006, Russell revealed that he was the director of Tombstone, not George P. Cosmatos, as credited. According to Russell, Cosmatos was recommended by Sylvester Stallone and was, in effect, a ghost director, much as he had been for Rambo: First Blood Part II. Russell said he promised Cosmatos he would keep it a secret as long as Cosmatos was alive; Cosmatos died in April 2005. Russell owns the rights to the masters and makes reference to possibly re-editing the film, as he was not originally involved in the editing.
Russell appeared as villain Stuntman Mike in Quentin Tarantino's segment Death Proof of the film Grindhouse. After a remake of Escape from New York was announced, Russell was reportedly upset with the casting of Scottish actor Gerard Butler for his signature character, Snake Plissken, as he believed the character 'was quintessentially American.'
Russell married actress Season Hubley, whom he had met on the set of Elvis in 1979; they had a son, Boston Russell, in 1980. In 1983, in the middle of his divorce from Hubley, Russell re-connected with Goldie Hawn on the set of the film Swing Shift, and they have been in a relationship ever since. They had a son, Wyatt, in 1986. One year later, in 1987, the couple starred in the film Overboard. Hawn's son and daughter with Bill Hudson, actors Oliver and Kate Hudson, consider Russell to be their father.
It was long reported that the final written words of Walt Disney were Kurt Russell's name scribbled on a piece of paper. Russell confirmed that he had seen the paper himself, but did not know what Disney was trying to convey.
Russell is a Libertarian. In 1996, he stated: "I was brought up as a Republican. But when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn't much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian." He claims he was often viewed as an outcast in Hollywood because of his libertarian views, so he and Hawn moved to an area outside Aspen, Colorado.
In February 2003, Russell and Hawn moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, so that their son could play hockey. Russell is an FAA licensed private pilot holding single/multi-engine and instrument ratings and is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope. Former Major League Baseball player Matt Franco is his nephew.
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Rode along with the Chicago Fire Dept.'s Squad 5 in preparation for his role in Backdraft (1991).
Played pro baseball (2nd base, AA club- California Angels) until a torn shoulder muscle forced retirement in 1973. Was hitting .563 at the time. His friend, Ron Shelton wrote the Crash Davis role in Bull Durham (1988) for him - the studio insisted on Kevin Costner though.
Father is Bing Russell a former baseball player, who played the deputy sherriff on "Bonanza" (1959) for 6 years.
He appeared in the music video and sang in the choir on the song "Voices That Care."
He is an FAA licensed Private Pilot holding single/multi- engine and instrument ratings.
Performs many of his stunts himself.
Father of Wyatt Russell (with Goldie Hawn).
He and longtime companion Goldie Hawn both appeared in The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968).
Partner of Goldie Hawn (1983 - present) 1 child.
He and partner Goldie Hawn formerly took summer vacations in the Muskoka region in Ontario, Canada. They gave up their cottage after too many unwelcomed visitors would stare at their cottage through binoculars from Lake Rosseau.
Atlanta Braves' first baseman, Matt Franco, is his nephew.
His character Snake Plissken (of Escape from New York (1981)) is about to become a comic book. Published by theCrossGen imprint Code 6 Comics, the book will be known as The Snake Plissken Chronicles. It is marked for publication beginning in 2003.
Started Cosmic Entertainment with partner Goldie Hawn, her daughter Kate Hudson, and her son Oliver Hudson in 2003.
Is a card carrying member of the NRA.
Was the best man at Ted Nugent's wedding.
Father of Boston Russell (born in 1980) with Season Hubley.
Graduate of Thousand Oaks High School, Thousand Oaks, California with Michael Richards, Kramer from "Seinfeld" (1990). Class of 1969, who voted him "Best Looking.".
Ex-brother-in-law of Larry J. Franco.
Is a big fan of Elvis Presley, Patrick Rondat and Tom Robinson.
Auditioned for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
In his audio commentary for The Thing (1982), he joked with director John Carpenter about the scene where he threw a stick of dynamite at the character Palmer (who was turning into the Thing) and how the explosion was more powerful than he had expected. In truth, he could have been seriously injured.
Was one of the first actors to do audio commentary on DVDs.
The presence of Lee Van Cleef on the set of Escape from New York (1981) inspired him to talk in a raspy voice similar to Clint Eastwood's from the Man With No Name trilogy.
During the filming of 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) in Vancouver, he visited the nearby set of "Stargate SG-1" (1997) and met the cast. Russell starred as Colonel Jack O'Neil in the original Stargate (1994). His role was adopted by Richard Dean Anderson in the spin-off series and the character's name was changed slightly (to Colonel Jack O'Neill).
Is good friends with stunt man Dick Warlock, who was his stunt double for over 20 years.
Portrayed cult classic heroes in four different movies: Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Stargate (1994) and Escape from L.A. (1996).
Said in his audio commentary for Big Trouble in Little China (1986) that the test audiences reacted so well to the film that he thought for sure that he and director friend John Carpenter had a box office hit on their hands. However, the studio put so little effort into advertising the film that it ultimately didn't do as well at the box office but became a cult favorite instead.
Is a libertarian.
Made his film debut in the Elvis Presley film, It Happened at the World's Fair (1963). He later went on to play him in Elvis (1979/I) (TV), and to provide his voice in Forrest Gump (1994).
When he and director John Carpenter were discussing the character of MacReady in The Thing (1982), they thought about making MacReady a former Vietnam chopper pilot who felt displaced by his service in the war and, as a result, was much more isolated than the other characters. This ultimately did not make it into the film.
Auditioned for the role of Flash Gordon (1980). The part went to Sam J. Jones instead.
He and his Tombstone (1993) co-star, Val Kilmer, have both played Elvis Presley. Val Kilmer played him in True Romance (1993), while Russell played him in a television movie, and provided his voice in Forrest Gump (1994). In Tombstone (1993), he plays Wyatt Earp. In 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), he works with Kevin Costner, who played the role a mere six months later in the film Wyatt Earp (1994).
Is good friends with director John Carpenter. The two have collaborated on five different films: Elvis (1979/I) (TV), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Escape from L.A. (1996).
He claims that he often felt an outcast in Hollywood because of his Libertarian beliefs, and so moved to live in an area outside Aspen, Colorado, where he started to try his hand at writing.
Kate Hudson, daughter of his longtime companion Goldie Hawn, named her son Ryder Russell Robinson. The middle name is an homage to Kurt, whom Hudson always considered to be her father.
Has starred in films with two of his former brother-in-laws: Larry J. Franco in John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), and Whip Hubley in Executive Decision (1996).
Has two younger sisters.
A member of the conservative Wednesday Morning Club in Hollywood, Russell introduced guest speaker Newt Gingrich in 1999.
Received The Disney Legends Award 1998 for living up to the Disney principals of: The Disney Legends award has three distinct elements that characterize the contributions made by each talented recipient. The Spiral ... stands for imagination, the power of an idea. The Hand ... holds the gifts of skill, discipline and craftsmanship. The Wand and the Star ... represent magic: the spark that is ignited when imagination and skill combine to create a new dream.
For his role on Tombstone (1993), he was trained by renowned Hollywood Gun Coach Thell Reed, who has also trained such actors as: Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton, Sam Elliott, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Foster and Girard Swan.
He acted as father to Kate Hudson by walking her down the aisle and giving her away at her wedding to rock star Chris Robinson.
Was offered a role in The Fog (1980).
Was originally cast to play the cursed heroic knight Navarre in Ladyhawke (1985), while Rutger Hauer, who played the part of Navarre in the film, was the original choice to play the evil captain, even though Hauer had no interest in the part and was actually more interested in the part of the hero Navarre. When Russell dropped out of the project, Hauer took the role.
Snake Plissken, the (anti-)hero of Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996) is his favorite character of all he's played.
Quit smoking cigars in 2006.
He and Goldie Hawn own a vacation home on Muskoka Lake, Ontario.
Born at 10:42 AM (EST).
Was Sylvester Stallone's original choice for Church in The Expendables (2010), but he turned it down.
One of his heroes since boyhood was John Wayne. He was able to use his dead-on John Wayne impression (to twisted effect) in Grindhouse (2007).
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"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." (On why he won't marry Goldie Hawn)
I seem to have a knack for picking movies that go on to be cult favorites.
If it hadn't been for video cassette, I may not have had a career at all.
[Talking about the fight scene with Ox Baker from Escape from New York (1981)]: "I remember Dick Warlock helped set up the fight and he came out with this big purple lump on the side of his head, and all he said to me was 'Keep your head down and be careful, man.'"
I was brought up as a Republican. But when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn't much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian.
To go on about acting as art is ridiculous. If it is an art, then it's a very low form. You don't have to be gifted just to hit a mark and say a line. And as far as I'm concerned, hitting my marks and knowing my lines is 90% of the job. I'm always criticized for talking like that. Maybe the reason I do it is that I never got the chance to develop a real desire to act. I was acting by the time I was nine so it seemed like a natural thing to do. Anyone who finds acting difficult just shouldn't be doing it.
You know, when Escape from New York (1981) first came out, a lot of people said, 'I don't quite understand this movie ... is this some kind of comment that, like, New York is a prison?' and years later a lot of people are saying, 'You know, New York is looking a lot like that movie.' In Escape from L.A. (1996), it's a story about a guy who just wants a cigarette. He just wants a cigarette! Everybody laughed back then because there was no red meat, no cigarettes in the movie. Well, look around! It's happening! You can barely smoke a cigarette anymore and although I quit smoking six months ago, the anti-smoking laws are enough to make me want to smoke!
My generation couldn't stand me and I couldn't stand them. In high school I was to the right of being straight. I believed in the work ethic, making money, and they all had this beef with the nation. Vietnam disappointed me because we didn't win.
(1996) For me there's never been a woman more beautiful than Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca.
(1996, on smoking marijuana) I never did, not until I was 32. I still don't understand the reason for smoking dope if you're not going to have sex. To me, drugs have no appeal other than sex.
(1996) Bull Durham is tough to talk about. (Director) Ronnie Shelton and I both lived that life, there were a lot of things in there that were derivative of what had happened to me. I was surprised that Ronnie [did] it with somebody else. I went to Europe on a vacation, having said the script was great, and I came back to discover Kevin [Costner] was doing it. Ronnie got a better deal. So I pulled a practical joke on him that wiped the slate clean for me. I was working on Winter People about 60 miles from where he was doing Bull Durham. I got on the phone, pretended to be [production chief] Mike Medavoy, ordered that Ronnie be pulled off the set, and I told him that the dailies were shit, the movie was shit and Costner was not working, "Here's what we're going to do,"' I told him. "Kurt Russell's 60 miles north of you finishing Winter People tonight. He will be on the set Monday morning." There was this long pause until Ronnie realized who he was really talking to, and then he said, "You son of a bitch!" I had him going for a few minutes, though.
(1996) The only time in my entire life as an actor when I felt I didn't know what I was doing was on Tango & Cash, when I had to dress up as a woman. It's not an acting chore I'd care to do again. I looked like a really ugly version of my mother, who happens to be beautiful. I don't get transvestism.
(1996) When I read Executive Decision, it was a real page-turner. I read scripts for the movies more than I do for the characters. I've read lots of characters I'd like to play, but I didn't enjoy the movie itself that much. I liked the fun of Executive Decision, You know, I feel when an audience sees my name attached to a film, they think it'll probably be a pretty good movie. The movies I do, if we make them well, will be fun to watch. They may not be the best movie of the year, and I may not be your favorite actor, but people come up to me all the time and say, "I like the movies you do."
(1996) It would be fun to have enough money to have a small restaurant where you could have your eclectic group of friends come in and get a good meal and be able to scream and holler, about politics, about anything-and you could be able to afford to lose $200,000 a year on it and it wouldn't make a difference. I'd like to have a jet airplane that I could fly, which would get me back and forth to Aspen inside of two hours, so that Aspen could become a weekend place. I'd like to have enough money to be able to afford some things for my family that I know they could use. Then, too, you know, certain humanitarian things-like, financing a school which could make a difference.
(1996, on his passion for hunting and where that started) My grandfather owned a hotel along Kennebago Lake in Maine. It had 31 log cabins and was built in 1887. I grew up watching all the guys going out in snowshoes while I played with my sister in the yard, and they'd come back with a deer. And then I got old enough to go with them. I grew up thinking that was the way to live. You could feed yourself, you could have corn in your garden, you could stock things in a barn, you didn't need anybody to do anything. And my grandparents were doing that. My grandfather was a phenomenal shot. And I watched my dad shoot deer, impossible shots when I could barely even see the deer. Goldie's a great game cook. We have a party every New Year's Day in Old Snowmass where everybody just watches the football games and they have Goldie's elk stew. We cook as much of the stuff as we can and finish it every time. And she enjoys that.
(1996) I am like Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin. I love life. I have a comic outlook, I laugh at myself harder than at anybody else. I get extremely vociferous about things I don't believe in, but I'm in the moment. Benjamin Franklin loved life, he wasn't a negative person. And I do sense that I'm being more perceived like that now.
(1996, on being part of the Hollywood community) At times I take great pride in it. But most of the time I'm completely ashamed of it, especially on the night of the Academy Awards. It's the one night of the year where I just want to crawl in a hole and hide. It's a bit like standing shoulder-to-shoulder with assholes. Mike Nichols and I were talking about politics once and he said, "The thing is, you can't stand shoulder-to-shoulder with assholes." And he's right. I can't. What's interesting about Oscar night is it's a joke-it's about how bad everything is. Everybody knows that that's the night to applaud Hollywood in all its horror. And yet...There's no other business that can create such enjoyment of life as this business. I love being part of that. Actors have changed my life at times. When people get to know me, I can't tell you how many times they come up to me and say, "You're nothing like what I've read about." I think people feel me more than they hear me. I've read interviews I've done and it's exactly what I've said but it's not what I was saying. I have an acerbic, sardonic sense of humor. I'm being facetious 90 percent of the time, but then 10 percent of the time I'm not. So unless I was to qualify everything I say, I'm not going to be understood.
My favorite Kurt Russell movies are Stargate, Overboard and Captain Ron. I've watched many of his movies but these remain at the top of my list.
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