Trivia

Snake Plissken, the anti-hero of Escape from New York (1981) and Escape from L.A. (1996) is his favorite character of all he has played.

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.

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.

Son of Bing Russell, a baseball player and actor, who played the deputy sheriff on Bonanza (1959) for six years.

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.

The lead role in They Live (1988) was originally written with him in mind. However, John Carpenter, having cast him in three films previously - Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982) and Big Trouble in Little China (1986) - decided to give someone else a go and cast Roddy Piper.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Rode along with the Chicago Fire Department's Squad 5 in preparation for his role in Backdraft (1991).

He was Sylvester Stallone's original choice for Church in The Expendables (2010), which he turned down. The role went to Bruce Willis.

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), and to provide his voice in Forrest Gump (1994).

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.

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.

Is good friends with director John Carpenter. The two have collaborated on five different films: Elvis (1979), Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Escape from L.A. (1996).

Dating Goldie Hawn since February 14, 1983: Valentine's Day 1983.

He was offered the role of Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993), but his asking price was too high. The role went to Sam Neill.

Is good friends with stuntman Dick Warlock, who was his stunt double for over 20 years.

Played pro baseball (second 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.

The last filmed appearance of Walt Disney was on October 27, 1966. Disney was promoting Follow Me, Boys! (1966), and he closed by saying, "you're about to meet a 15-year-old boy, for whom I predict a great acting future. His name is Kurt Russell".

He and longtime companion Goldie Hawn appeared together in Five films: The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968), Swing Shift (1984), Overboard (1987), The Christmas Chronicles (2018), and The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two (2020).

Was one of the first actors to do audio commentary on DVDs.

Graduated from Thousand Oaks High School in Thousand Oaks, California, with Michael Richards. Class of 1969, who voted him "Best Looking".

Began Cosmic Entertainment with partner Goldie Hawn, her daughter Kate Hudson, and her son Oliver Hudson. (2003)

He turned down the role of Connor McLeod in Highlander (1986) in order to star in Big Trouble in Little China (1986). The role went to Christopher Lambert.

Was originally cast to play the cursed heroic knight Navarre in Ladyhawke (1985), while Rutger Hauer, who played the role of Navarre in the film, was the original choice to play the evil captain, even though Hauer had no interest in the role and was actually more interested in the role of the hero Navarre. When Russell dropped out of the project, Hauer took the role.

He was considered for the role of Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon (1987), which went to Mel Gibson.

Has portrayed cult classic heroes in five different movies: Escape from New York (1981), The Thing (1982), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), Stargate (1994) and Escape from L.A. (1996).

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).

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.

He was originally cast as Crash Davis in Bull Durham (1988) and even helped Ron Shelton develop the script. But the role went to Kevin Costner. After the film was made, Russell was so impressed, he actually wrote fan letters to Costner and Shelton.

In Elvis (1979), he played Elvis Presley while his real life father Bing Russell played Elvis' father Vernon Presley.

Tom Cruise wanted him for the role of Rowdy Burns in Days of Thunder (1990). It was through Cruise that Russell became aware of Backdraft (1991).

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on May 4, 2017.

He was considered for the role of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976), which went to Robert De Niro.

He was considered for Kevin Costner's roles in The Untouchables (1987) and Field of Dreams (1989).

Is a card carrying member of the NRA.

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.

He was considered for Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

Has English, German, Scottish and Irish ancestry.

Is a huge fan of Elvis Presley, Patrick Rondat and Tom Robinson.

He was offered John Ritter's role in Problem Child (1990), but he was busy with Tango & Cash (1989).

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).

He was considered for Bill in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004).

Quit smoking cigars in 2006.

Russell and Hawn moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, so that their son could play hockey. (February 2003)

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.

He was considered for the role of Alan Parish in Jumanji (1995), which went to Robin Williams.

He was considered to play Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989) and Batman Forever (1995). He was also considered to play James Gordon in Batman Begins (2005).