Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell

Actor | Producer | Writer

Kurt Vogel RussellĀ (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television, at the age of 12, in a lead role in the western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheetersĀ (1963ā€“1964).

Russell made his film debut with an uncredited part forĀ It Happened at the World's Fair, playing a boy who kicked a pilot (Elvis Presley) in the leg.Ā On April 24, 1963, Russell guest-starred in the ABC seriesĀ Our Man Higgins, starringĀ Stanley Holloway as an English butler in an American family.

In 1966, the last thingĀ Walt DisneyĀ wrote were the words "Kurt Russell" on a piece of paper. That same year, Russell was signed to a ten-year contract withĀ The Walt Disney Company, where he became, according toĀ Robert Osborne, the "studio's top star of the '70s". He starred as Dexter Riley in Disney films such asĀ The Computer Wore Tennis ShoesĀ (1969),Ā Now You See Him, Now You Don'tĀ (1972), andĀ The Strongest Man in the WorldĀ (1975).

He starred in other Disney movies includingĀ The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1969), Guns in the HeatherĀ (1969), The Barefoot ExecutiveĀ (1971), Charley and the AngelĀ (1973), and SuperdadĀ (1973), to name a few.

In 1979, Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for the made-for-television film Elvis. In the 1980s, he starred in several films directed byĀ John Carpenter, including anti-heroĀ roles such as army hero-turned-robberĀ Snake PlisskenĀ in the futuristic action filmĀ Escape from New YorkĀ (1981) and its sequelĀ Escape from L.A.Ā (1996), the horror filmĀ The ThingĀ (1982), and the kung-fu comedy action filmĀ Big Trouble in Little ChinaĀ (1986). Russell was nominated for aĀ Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor ā€“ Motion PictureĀ for his performance inĀ Mike Nichols' SilkwoodĀ  (1983).

Russell starred in several other notable films, includingĀ Used CarsĀ (1981),Ā The Best of TimesĀ (1986),Ā OverboardĀ (1987),Ā Tango & CashĀ (1989), Backdraft (1991), Tombstone (1993),Ā StargateĀ (1994),Ā Executive DecisionĀ (1996),Ā Vanilla Sky (2001), MiracleĀ (2004),Ā Sky HighĀ (2005),Ā Death ProofĀ (2007),Ā The Hateful EightĀ (2015) and Once Upon a Time in HollywoodĀ (2019).

He also appeared inĀ The Fast and the FuriousĀ franchiseĀ asĀ Mr. Nobody, having starred inĀ Furious 7Ā (2015),Ā The Fate of the FuriousĀ (2017) andĀ F9Ā (2021), portrayed EgoĀ in theĀ Marvel Cinematic UniverseĀ (MCU) installmentsĀ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2Ā (2017) andĀ What If...?Ā (2021), and subsequently portrayedĀ Santa ClausĀ inĀ The Christmas ChroniclesĀ (2018) andĀ The Christmas Chronicles 2Ā (2020).