Biography

A mid-range star of big-budget action films and the occasional comedy, Kurt Russell is among the few to make the successful transition from child star to successful adult actor. As a youth, Russell aspired to follow the footsteps of his father, Bing Russell, who, in addition to being a big league baseball player, was also an actor (he was perhaps best known for his role as the sheriff on the TV Western Bonanza). That his heroes Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris did the same thing only strengthened Russell's resolve to have both a baseball and acting career.

He first broke into acting on television, starring in the series The Travels of Jamie McPheeters, and made his film debut playing the boy who kicks Elvis in the 1963 Elvis Presley vehicle It Happened at the World's Fair. After signing a ten-year contract with Disney, Russell got his big break as a juvenile actor in 1966, starring opposite Fred MacMurray in Disney's live-action feature Follow Me Boys! His association with the studio lasted through 1975, and produced such comedic family movies as The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), The Barefoot Executive (1971), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975). The last film marked Russell's final collaboration with Disney, aside from his voicing the character of Copper in the studio's The Fox and the Hound (1981). Still an avid baseball enthusiast during those years, Russell nurtured his dreams of becoming a professional ball player until a shoulder injury permanently changed his plans.

After ending his association with Disney, Russell disappeared from features -- he did, however, appear in a few television movies -- until playing the title role in Elvis, John Carpenter's made-for-television biopic. His next role as a sleazy used car salesman in Robert Zemeckis' hilariously caustic Used Cars (1980) allowed him to counter his wholesome, all-American nice guy image, and proved that he was an actor of untapped range. Director Carpenter recognized this and cast Russell as mercenary Snake Plissken in his brooding sci-fi/action film Escape From New York (1981), and then as a scientist in the Antarctic in his chilling 1982 remake of The Thing. Realizing that his characters were larger than life, Russell typically played them with his tongue ever so slightly in his cheek.

In 1983, however, he moved to serious drama, playing opposite Cher and Meryl Streep in Silkwood. The success of that film helped him break into a more mainstream arena, and he was later able to win praise for his dramatic work in such films as Swing Shift (1984), Tequila Sunrise (1988), and Winter People (1989). However, it is with his performances in action films that Russell remains most widely associated. He has appeared in a number of such films, all of disparate quality. Some of Russell's more memorable projects include Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Tango and Cash (1989), Backdraft (1991), Tombstone (1993), and Executive Decision (1996). In 1996, he reprised his Snake Plissken character for Carpenter's Escape From L.A. The following year, he starred opposite Kathleen Quinlan in the revenge thriller Breakdown before returning to the sci-fi/action realm with Soldier in 1998. It would be two years before movie-going audiences would again catch a glimpse of Russell, though with his roles in 2000 Miles to Graceland (again carrying on the Elvis associations that have haunted his career) and Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, the versatile actor proved that he was still very much on the scene. Some of Russell's fame comes from his status as half of one of Hollywood's most famous couples. The long-time partner of Goldie Hawn and father of one of her children, he has appeared with Hawn in Swing Shift and Overboard (1987). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Dark Blue (2002) .... Sgt. Eldon Perry Jr.
Interstate 60 (2002) (uncredited) .... Libertarian Sheriff
... aka Interstate 60: Episodes of the Road (2002) (USA)
Vanilla Sky (2001) .... Dr. Curtis McCabe
America: A Tribute to Heroes (2001) (TV) .... Himself
3000 Miles to Graceland (2001) .... Michael Zane
Intimate Portrait: Halle Berry (1998) (TV) .... Himself
Soldier (1998) .... Sgt. Todd 3465
Breakdown (1997) .... Jeff Taylor
Escape from L.A. (1996) .... Snake Plissken
... aka John Carpenter's Escape from L.A. (1996) (USA: complete title)
Executive Decision (1996) .... Dr. David Grant
... aka Critical Decision (1996)
Stargate (1994) .... Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil
... aka Stargate, la porte des étoiles (1995) (France)
100 Years of the Hollywood Western (1994) (TV) .... Himself
Forrest Gump (1994) (uncredited) (voice) .... Elvis Presley
Tombstone (1993) .... Wyatt Earp
Captain Ron (1992) .... Captain Ron
Unlawful Entry (1992) .... Michael Carr
Voices that Care (1991) (TV) .... Choir Member
Backdraft (1991) .... Lieutenant Stephen 'Bull' McCaffrey & Dennis McCaffrey
Tango & Cash (1989) .... Gabriel 'Gabe' Cash
Winter People (1989) .... Wayland Jackson
Tequila Sunrise (1988) .... Det. Lt. Nicholas 'Nick' Frescia
Overboard (1987) .... Dean Proffitt
Big Trouble in Little China (1986) .... Jack Burton
... aka John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China (1986) (USA: complete title)
Best of Times, The (1986) .... Reno Hightower
Mean Season, The (1985) .... Malcolm Anderson
Making of 'The Mean Season', The (1985) (TV) .... Himself
Terror in the Aisles (1984) (archive footage) .... MacReady (segment "The Thing")
... aka Time for Terror (1984) (Europe: video title English title)
Swing Shift (1984) .... Lucky/Mike
Silkwood (1983) .... Drew Stephens
Thing, The (1982) .... R.J. MacReady
... aka John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) (USA: complete title)
Escape from New York (1981) .... Snake Plissken
... aka John Carpenter's Escape from New York (1981) (USA: complete title)
Fox and the Hound, The (1981) (voice) .... Adult Copper
Used Cars (1980) .... Rudolph 'Rudy' Russo
Amber Waves (1980) (TV) .... Laurence Kendall
Elvis (1979) (TV) .... Elvis Presley
Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. (1977) (TV) .... Johnny
... aka Christmas Coal Mine Miracle, The (1977) (TV)
Battle of the Network Stars II (1977) (TV) .... NBC Team Contestant
Captive: The Longest Drive 2, The (1976) .... Morgan 'Two Persons' Bodeen
Quest: The Longest Drive, The (1976) (TV) .... Morgan 'Two Persons' Beaudine
"Quest, The" (1976) TV Series .... Morgan Beaudine
Quest, The (1976) (TV) .... Morgan 'Two Persons' Bodeen
... aka Longest Drive, The (1976) (TV) (USA: video title)
Deadly Tower, The (1975) (TV) .... Charles Joseph Whitman
... aka Sniper (1975) (TV)
Search for the Gods (1975) (TV) .... Shan Mullins
Strongest Man in the World, The (1975) .... Dexter Riley
Superdad (1974) .... Bart
"New Land, The" (1974) TV Series .... Bo Larsen
Charley and the Angel (1973) .... Ray Ferris
Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) .... Dexter Riley
Fools' Parade (1971) .... Johnny Jesus
... aka Dynamite Man from Glory Jail (1971) (UK)
Barefoot Executive, The (1971) .... Steven Post
Dad, Can I Borrow the Car? (1970) (TV) .... Narrator
Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The (1969) .... Dexter Riley
Guns in the Heather (1968) .... Rich
... aka Secret of Boyne Castle, The (1968)
... aka Spy Busters (1968)
Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit, The (1968) .... Ronnie Gardner
One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, The (1968) .... Sidney Bower
Mosby's Marauders (1966) .... Willie Prentiss
... aka Willie and the Yank (1966)
Follow Me, Boys! (1966) .... Whitey
Guns of Diablo (1964) (TV) .... Jamie McPheeters
"Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, The" (1963) TV Series .... Jaimie McPheeters (1963-64)
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963) (uncredited) .... Boy Who Kicks Mike
Absent-Minded Professor, The (1961) (uncredited) .... Bit part
"Sugarfoot" (1957) TV Series
... aka "Tenderfoot" (1957) (UK)

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