Line #12 Creator/KurtRussell


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kurt_russell.jpg]]
2	->''"I've never looked at my career in terms of, 'What haven't I done that I want to do?', I just generally find a story that I think is a good one and go to work."''
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4	Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor who began his career as a child in the Western series ''Series/TheTravelsOfJaimieMcPheeters''. After many successful years as a child actor, he signed a ten-year contract with Creator/{{Disney}} in 1966 at the age of 15, leading to him initially being best-known as a teen star with regular appearances in Disney's family comedies (not unlike Creator/ZacEfron or Creator/HilaryDuff).[[note]]Walt Disney was actually making a note about him when he had his fatal heart attack, with even Russell himself having no idea what it means. This has given rise to a popular legend that Russell's name was the last thing that Disney ever said before he died.[[/note]]
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6	Against all odds, he eventually made a successful transition to starring in action films as an adult, becoming particularly famous for his numerous collaborations with director Creator/JohnCarpenter--which solidified his image as a rugged anti-hero, and helped him shed his image as a clean-cut Disney star. Despite this, he didn't immediately end his association with Disney after his contract ended in 1976: his last collaboration with the company was in 1981, when he voiced the titular hound dog Copper in ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound''. Strangely enough, ''The Fox and the Hound'' hit theaters the same year as Russell's iconic star turn as Snake Plissken in ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork''.
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8	(Yes, that grizzled man with the eyepatch voiced a cartoon dog in a Disney flick a few months before he killed his way through half of New York)
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10	While not to the level of {{Typecasting}}, several of his roles also tie him to Music/ElvisPresley in some way, portraying him in a 1979 biopic, cameoing as a young Elvis in ''Film/ForrestGump'', and playing an ElvisImpersonator in ''Film/ThreeThousandMilesToGraceland'' [[spoiler:who is actually Elvis' son]].
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12	Amusingly, he actually acted ''with'' Elvis in his feature film debut: his very first film acting credit was a bit part in the 1963 Elvis vehicle ''Film/ItHappenedAtTheWorldsFair'', where he plays a young boy who gets paid 25 cents to kick Elvis' character in the shins. Supposedly, the young Russell had difficulty filming that scene because he was such a big fan of Elvis--so Elvis paid him ''$5'' to kick him.
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14	He's the longtime partner of Creator/GoldieHawn, by whom he fathered actor Creator/WyattRussell. He has an older son, Boston Russell, from a previous relationship with actress Creator/SeasonHubley, and is the stepfather of [[Creator/OliverHudson Oliver]] and Creator/KateHudson.
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16	!!Roles of Note:
17	* ''Series/LostInSpace'' (1966): Quano
18	* ''Film/TheOneAndOnlyGenuineOriginalFamilyBand'' (1968): Sidney Bower
19	* ''Film/TheComputerWoreTennisShoes'' (1969), ''Film/NowYouSeeHimNowYouDont'' (1972), and ''Film/TheStrongestManInTheWorld'' (1975): Dexter Riley
20	* ''Film/FoolsParade'' (1971)
21	* ''Film/UsedCars'' (1980): Rudy Russo
22	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'' (1981): Adult Copper (voice)
23	* ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' (1981): Snake Plissken
24	** ''Film/EscapeFromLA'' (1996)
25	* ''Film/{{The Thing\|1982}}'' (1982): R.J. [=MacReady=]
26	* ''Film/{{Silkwood}}'' (1983): Drew Stephens
27	* ''Film/SwingShift'' (1984): Mike "Lucky" Lockhart
28	* ''Film/TheBestOfTimes'' (1986): Reno Hightower
29	* ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' (1986): Jack Burton
30	* ''Film/{{Overboard\|1987}}'' (1987): Dean Proffitt
31	* ''Film/TequilaSunrise'' (1988): Detective Nick Frescia
32	* ''Film/TangoAndCash'' (1989): Detective Gabriel "Gabe" Cash
33	* ''Film/{{Backdraft}}'' (1991): Lieutenant Stephen 'Bull' [=McCaffrey=] / Captain Dennis [=McCaffrey=]
34	* ''Film/CaptainRon'' (1992): Captain Ron
35	* ''Film/UnlawfulEntry'' (1992): Michael Carr
36	* ''Film/{{Tombstone}}'' (1993): Wyatt Earp
37	* ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' (1994): Col. Jack O'Neil
38	* ''Film/ForrestGump'' (1994): Young Music/ElvisPresley (uncredited)
39	* ''Film/ExecutiveDecision'' (1996): Dr. David Grant
40	* ''Film/{{Breakdown}}'' (1997): Jeff Taylor
41	* ''Film/{{Soldier}}'' (1998): Todd
42	* ''Film/ThreeThousandMilesToGraceland'' (2001): Michael Zane
43	* ''Film/VanillaSky'' (2001): [=McCabe=]
44	* ''Film/Interstate60'' (2002): Captain Ives
45	* ''Film/DarkBlue'' (2003): Eldon Perry
46	* ''Film/{{Miracle}}'' (2004): Coach Herb Brooks
47	* ''Film/{{Sky High\|2005}}'' (2005): Steve "The Commander" Stronghold
48	* ''Film/{{Poseidon}}'' (2006): Robert Ramsey
49	* ''Film/DeathProof'' (2007): Stuntman Mike
50	* ''Film/TheArtOfTheSteal'' (2013): Crunch Calhoun
51	* ''[[Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious Fast & Furious]]'' franchise: "Mr. Nobody"
52	** ''Film/FuriousSeven'' (2015)
53	** ''Film/TheFateOfTheFurious'' (2017)
54	** ''Film/{{F9}}'' (2021)
55	** ''Film/FastX'' (2023)
56	* ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' (2015): John "The Hangman" Ruth
57	* ''Film/BoneTomahawk'' (2015): Sheriff Franklin
58	* ''Film/DeepwaterHorizon'' (2016): Jimmy Harrell
59	* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse: [[Characters/MCUEgo Ego the Living Planet]]
60	** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' (2017)
61	** ''[[WesternAnimation/WhatIf2021 What If...?]]'' (2021-) (voice)
62	* ''Film/TheChristmasChronicles'' (2018): SantaClaus
63	* The ''Franchise/MonsterVerse'' (2023–)
64	** ''Series/MonarchLegacyOfMonsters'' (2023): Lee Shaw
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66	----
67	!!Associated Tropes:
68	* AntiHero: Despite some of his roles being in family-fare comedy, his best known roles are his anti-heroes.
69	* TheCharmer: He's a very charismatic actor and his characters can charm just about anyone.
70	* CoolOldGuy: As he hit his 60s, most of his characters became this by default.
71	* ContractualPurity: For a long time during and after his stint with Creator/{{Disney}} he was only cast in family-friendly comedy roles.
72	* CreatorsFavorite: Of the many, many movies he's been in over the course of his career, he considers playing Santa Claus in ''Film/TheChristmasChronicles'' to be his absolute favorite role, due to how mythological the person was both in the context of Christmas itself and regarding the real Saint Nick.
73	* FormerChildStar: A well-known aversion: he started acting at the age of eleven, but was able to successfully transition to adult roles without any of the self-destructive or hardships other child stars face.
74	* GenerationXerox: His son Creator/WyattRussell is also an actor and has a knack for playing similarly charming and likable characters. Just as Kurt was a pro baseball player, Wyatt was a [[UsefulNotes/{{NCAA}} college]] and pro hockey player before he started acting.
75	* HappilyMarried: A subversion: he and partner Creator/GoldieHawn never married, but given the longevity and stability of their union, it certainly still qualifies as this trope.
76	* LargeHam: In many of his roles, especially his action films.
77	* MrFanservice: In TheEighties, especially as [[Film/EscapeFromNewYork Snake Plissken]], he was prone to show his well shaped and normal muscular body.[[note]]And when he reprised the role fifteen years later, the original Snake's costume still fit him perfectly[[/note]]
78	* PlayingWithCharacterType: His role as Ego in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' seems perfectly in keeping with his usual gregarious, charismatic characters. [[ItsAllAboutMe Then]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing the]] [[OmnicidalManiac truth]] [[TheSociopath comes]] [[WouldHurtAChild out]]...
79	* ProductionPosse: He's worked a lot with Creator/JohnCarpenter and Creator/QuentinTarantino.
80	* SilverFox: He's in his seventies with his hair having gone completely grey, [[{{Hunk}} but he's still very ruggedly handsome]] and [[LargeHam his charisma]] hasn't faded one bit with age.
81	* UncreditedRole: He had an uncredited cameo as Music/ElvisPresley in ''Film/ForrestGump'', well the voice at least. The actor who physically played Elvis was Peter Dobson.
82	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
83	** He was the runner-up for the part of [[Characters/StarWarsHanSolo Han Solo]] in ''Film/ANewHope'' before the casting of Creator/HarrisonFord.
84	** Before his adult acting career, Russell was actually a professional baseball player, making it as far as Double-A before a collision at second base ruined his rotator cuff and his career.
85	** Creator/WaltDisney's last words were to simply scribble "Kurt Russell" on a piece of paper. Not even Russell knows what it meant, but the most likely theory is that it was some movie idea that Disney considered the young Russell would have been perfect for.
86	** When legendary film producer Ray Stark bought the rights to ''Literature/TheBlueLagoon'' in the late 1960s, he envisioned him as the male lead, however, his contract with Disney prevented him from getting the part.
87	** He applied for the role of Romeo Montague in ''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968''.
88	* WrittenByCastMember: He co-wrote ''Film/EscapeFromLA''.

Context Creator / KurtRussell