What the Hell Happened to Kurt Russell?

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http://lebeauleblog.com/2013/08/03/what-the-hell-happened-to-kurt-russell/

Posted by lebeau

Kurt Russell has had an extremely long career. So long that a lot of audiences probably don’t remember his career as a child actor. Russell started making TV appearances in the late 1950s through the 60s. In the 70s, he became the top star at Disney. In the 80s, Russell and director John Carpenter created iconic anti-heroes. Russell continued to work in various dramas throughout his career. And yet, over the course of his long career, he never quite reached A-list status.

What the hell happened?

Let me state up front that Russell had the kind of career most actors would kill for. He has worked steadily for decades without ever being pigeon-holed to a certain genre. Even in his 60s, the guy is still working in some pretty high-profile movies. So this article isn’t about a career implosion like some others in the series. The question here is why Russell wasn’t bigger. Why didn’t he achieve the same level of stardom as some of his co-stars?

Russell got his start as a child actor. In the 60′s he made a lot of TV appearances on Westerns. His first role was as a boy in the pilot for the ABC Western, Sugarfoot.

Wait! Sugarfoot was real?

As a fan of Arrested Development, I know Sugarfoot from an episode in which Jason Bateman tried to win favor by pretending to remember the show’s theme song:

I always assumed that Sugarfoot was made up for Arrested Development. But no, it’s real. Russell played the role of “Boy” on the pilot episode. In case you ever need to sing the theme song to impress Dick Van Patten, here it is:

Russell made his movie debut with an uncredited role opposite Elvis Presley in the 1963 movie, It Happened at the World’s Fair. As we’ll see later, Presley is a significant figure in Russell’s career. Here’s a clip of a young Russell kicking the King in the shin:

In 1964, Russell made guest appearances on several popular TV shows. Here he is with Robert Vaughn on The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

Russell also played Lt. Phillip Gerard’s son on the adventure series, The Fugitive.

Russell appeared in several Westerns including Gunsmoke and The Virginian. He appeared in the final episode of The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters which was then expanded and adapted into a movie called The Guns of Diablo (pictured above with Charles Bronson).

In 1965, Russell guest starred on Gilligan’s Island. He played “Jungle Boy”.

Russell also appeared in five episodes of the Walt Disney hit show, Daniel Boone.

Russell appeared in so many TV shows in the mid-60s that I am cherry-picking here. Otherwise, this article would go on for days. Here he is in a 1966 episode of Lost in Space.

That same year, Russell appeared in Follow Me, Boys opposite Fred MacMurray and Vera Miles. It was the first of ten movies Russell would make for the Disney company over the next ten years. It was also the last film released by the Walt Disney Studio during Walt Disney’s lifetime.

The film’s title song was written by Disney’s in-house song-writing team, the Sherman brothers. For a time, after the film was released, the Boy Scouts of America was considering using the song as their anthem.

In 1968, Russell appeared in his second film for Disney, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. In a twist of fate, Russell’s future partner, Goldie Hawn, made her film debut in a small role.

Later that same year, Russell appeared in his third Disney film opposite Dean Jones in The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit.

In 1969, Russell appeared in Disney’s “international spy thriller”, The Guns in the Heather, which apparently was “adultivated”. I’m not sure what that means, but it doesn’t sound very Disney.

Later that year, Russell starred in Disney’s The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.

Russell played a student who was struck by lightning while installing a spare part in a computer at his school. Rather than being imbued with Flash-like super speed powers, Russell’s character becomes a human super computer. His new abilities allow him to excel at a television quiz show where he wins prizes for his school and becomes a celebrity.

The villain was played by Cesar Romero, aka the Joker from the Batman TV show.

The movie took place in the same setting as Disney’s Absent-Minded Professor films, the fictional Medfield College. The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes was a big enough hit to inspire two sequels. In 1995, it was remade as a TV movie starring Kirk Cameron.

In 1971, Russell starred in Disney’s high concept comedy, The Barefoot Executive.

Russell played a mail room clerk at a TV station who discovers that his girlfriend’s pet chimp can predict whether or not TV shows will be a hit. Russell’s character uses the adorable primate’s abilities to advance his career in televsion.

The movie also marked the film debut of John Ritter. It was also remade as a Disney Channel movie in 1995.

Later that year, Russell appeared opposite James Stewart and George Kennedy in a non-Disney film, Fools’ Parade.

Stewart and Russell played inmates released from prison. Stewart’s character is given a large check for his many years of prison work. Kennedy’s character plans to take the check before the inmates are set free. He sets up a train robbery and frames Stewart sending the former inmates on the run.


Russell’s father had been a baseball player. In the early 70′s, Russell played second base for the California Angels minor league affiliates. 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 shoulder. Before his injury, The injury forced his retirement from baseball.

In 1972, Russell returned to the role of science major Dexter Riley in the Disney sequel Now You See Him, Now You Don’t.

In this one, the students invent an invisibility spray which Cesar Romero wants to steal.

In 1973, Russell had a supporting role in Fred MacMurray’s final film for Disney, Charley and the Angel.

MacMurray played a work-obsessed father who is visited by an angel played by Harry Morgan (of TV’s MASH). The angel informs him he doesn’t have long to live, so MacMurray starts to put his affairs in order. Russell plays a young man dating MacMurray’s daughter.

Later that year, Russell played another troublesome boyfriend in Disney’s Superdad.

Superdad starred Hogan’s Heroes star, Bob Crane as a dad (presumably a super one) who thinks his daughter is hanging out with a bad crowd. This being a Disney movie, the bad influence is a bunch of surfers. Russell played the boyfriend Crane tries to separate from his daughter.

In 1975, Russell played Dexter Riley for the last time in the Disney sequel The Strongest Man in the World.

This time, Dexter accidentally creates a breakfast cereal that gives him super strength. Of course, Cesar Romero makes an attempt at stealing the formula having not learned his lesson the previous two times.

This completed Russell’s ten-year contract with Disney.

With his film contract ended, Russell went back to TV. After a couple of TV movies, Russell starred opposite Tim Matheson in a short-lived Western series called The Quest.

Around this time, Russell auditioned for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars. George Lucas auditioned numerous actors before finally casting Harrison Ford. Fortunately, Russell’s audition has been saved for posterity:

Russell had a bit of a career lull post Disney. After the cancellation of The Quest, Russell didn’t work much until …

Russell starred in John Carpenter’s 1979 TV movie about the life of Elvis.

Russell had appeared in one of Prseley’s movies as a child in 1963. Sixteen years later, he was playing the King himself.

The movie was the start of a collaborative partnership between Russell and Carpenter. The TV movie was highly rated and Russell was nominated for an Emmy.

While filming Elvis, Russel met and married actress Season Hubley. The couple had a son the next year.

In 1980, Russell starred opposite Jack Warden in Robert Zemeckis’ rowdy comedy, Used Cars.

Russell played an unscrupulous car salesman (is there any other kind?) with political aspirations. He works for a down-on-his luck dealer played by Warden. Warden’s chief rival is his brother (also played by Warden) who runs a more successful dealership across the street.

Reviews were mostly positive. However, Columbia pushed up the release date from August to July. The studio botched the film’s marketing. What’s more, the new release date was shortly after the comedy smash Airplane! So in spite of mostly good reviews, Used Cars was overlooked at the box office. Over time, it has developed a cult following on video.

In 1981, Russell returned to Disney as the voice of Copper (as an adult) in the animated feature The Fox and the Hound. Young Copper was played by Corey Feldman.

The Fox and the Hound was a transitional film for Disney animation. Disney’s legendary animators known as the Nine Old Men started production on the film in 1977. But over the course of animating the project, the next generation of Disney animators took over the project. A power struggle ensued which saw several animators leave Disney. As a result, the film missed its Christmas release date and was instead released the following summer.

In spite of mixed reviews, The Fox and the Hound was a hit at the box office.

At the same time The Fox and the Hound was playing in theaters, Russell starred in John Carpenter’s Escape From New York.

Russell played Snake Plissken, a former special forces soldier turned one-eyed criminal. In a dystopian future, the island of Manhattan is separated from the rest of the country and used as a prison. When the president is taken hostage by the inmates in Manhattan, Plissken is recruited and sent on a suicide mission to rescue him.

Carpenter wrote the script for Escape From New York during the Watergate scandal. But he lacked the clout to get the film made. After the success of Halloween, Carpenter signed a two-picture deal. The first movie in the deal was The Fog. The Philadelphia Experiment was supposed to be Carpenter’s second picture. But when it was delayed over script issues, Carpenter revisited Escape.

The studio wanted to cast Charles Bronson or Tommy Lee Jones in the lead role. Carpenter rejected Bronson on the basis that he was too old. He wanted to cast an actor who wouldn’t challenge his authority on the set. So he pushed for Russell who was eager to shed his lightweight Disney image. Russell stayed in character the entire time with the exception of wearing the eye patch which effected his depth perception.

Reviews were mostly positive and the low budget film was a hit at the box office. Over the years, the film has built a larger cult following.

In 1982 Russell reunited with Carpenter for The Thing, a remake of the 1951 sci-fi film, The Thing From Another World.

Russell played a tough as nails helicopter pilot stationed at an American Antarctic research station. The scientists uncover a shape-shifting alien life form that infiltrates their group by assuming their form. The group becomes paranoid because they can never be certain who has been replaced by the alien.

The Thing featured what was at the time state-of-the-art special effects. The physical effects were heavy on slime and gore which put off many critics. While they praised the technical prowess of the special effects team, many critics disparaged the content as being repulsive. Roger Ebert called The Thing “a great barf-bag movie”. Reviews were mixed and the film disappointed at the box office. One theory for the film’s weak box office performance is that it was released shortly after E.T. which presented alien encounters as a positive experience.

Since its release, The Thing has become a cult classic. In 2012, a prequel was released which was practically a remake using CGI effects instead of the physical effects of the original.

In 1983, Russell co-starred opposite Meryl Streep and Cher in Mike Nichols’ drama, Silkwood.

The movie was based on the true story of Karen Silkwood, a labor union activist who died in a mysterious car accident after investigating possible wrong-doing by her employer. Russell played Silkwood’s supportive live-in boyfriend who is pushed to the breaking point by the investigation.

Silkwood received positive reviews and was a hit at the box office. Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. The film was a major breakthrough for Russell who had finally shed his Disney image. What’s more, he showed that he could be successful outside of Carpenter’s low budget genre films.

In 1983, Russell co-starred opposite Goldie Hawn in Jonathan Demme’s World War II film, Swing Shift.

Hawn played a woman who goes to work at a factory while her husband is away fighting in the war. She befriends her neighbor and a musician played by Russell. The three of them enjoy their time together until Hawn’s husband returns from the war.

Conflicts arose on the set between the stars and the director. Hawn and Russell saw the film as a light comedy. But Demme wanted to make a more dramatic film. Hawn and the studio requested reshoots and the film was recut to be more comedic. In spite of mostly positive reviews, Swing Shift flopped at the box office.

Russell was going through a divorce at the time he was filming Swing Shift. He and Hawn started an off-screen romantic relationship. Although they never married, they have been one of Hollywood’s longest lasting couples. In 1986, they had a son together. And Hawn’s children from her previous marriage, Kate and Oliver Hudson, came to view Russell as their father.

In 1985, Russell co-starred opposite Mariel Hemingway in the thriller, The Mean Season.

Russell played a reporter who finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper into a story he is investigating. Russell’s character is covering a serial killer who begins calling him to tell him that he will kill again.

Reviews were mixed and the movie disappointed at the box office.

In 1986, Russell co-starred opposite Robin Williams in the football comedy, The Best of Times.

Williams played a banker who is haunted every day by the day he dropped a perfect pass during a big high school football game. He believes that if he had caught the ball, his life would be better. Thirteen years later, he convinces both teams to stage a rematch. Russell played the quarterback who threw the fateful pass.

The Best of Times was written by Ron Shelton who went on to write and direct several sports movies including Bull Durham, White Men Can’t Jump and Tin Cup. It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode who is Canadian and didn’t have the best grasp of American football. Williams later admitted that he may not have been the best choice to direct the film.

The movie received mostly negative reviews and flopped at the box office.

Later that year, Russell reunited with Carpenter for the action-comedy, Big Trouble in Little China.

Russell played truck driver Jack Burton. With an all-American name like that, Burton couldn’t help but be John Wayne-esque tough guy. Russell’s character gets drawn into a bizarre underworld of kung fu and Eastern mysticism when he agrees to help a friend. He’s also trying to get back his truck.

Originally, Big Trouble was written as a Western which might help to explain why Russell does a John Wayne impression through the whole movie. The original script was deemed “awful” and was rewritten to a modern setting. Carpenter eventually agreed to direct after turning down the similarly themed The Golden Child. After learning that the rival film had cast Eddie Murphy, Carpenter and the studio sought to cast a similarly big box office draw. Clint Eastwood and Jack Nicholson were considered but were not available.

The studio liked the idea of casting Russell as they considered him a rising star. But Russell was reluctant. Eventually, Carpenter sold Russell on the idea of playing a flawed hero. Russell described his character thusly:

“Jack is and isn’t the hero. He falls on his ass as much as he comes through. This guy is a real blowhard. He’s a lot of hot air, very self-assured, a screw-up. At heart he thinks he’s Indiana Jones but the circumstances are always too much for him”.

Big Trouble raced to beat The Golden Child to theaters. Carpenter commented, “How many adventure pictures dealing with Chinese mysticism have been released by the major studios in the past 20 years? For two of them to come along at the exact same time is more than mere coincidence.” Big Trouble in Little China managed to beat The Golden Child to theaters. Both films received mixed reviews. But Big Trouble flopped at the box office. The Golden Child was a hit based on Murphy’s popularity at the time, but it failed to live up to expectations based on Beverly Hills Cop.

Like a lot of Carpenter’s films from this period, Big Trouble developed a cult following on video.

In 1987, one year after the birth of their son, Russell and Hawn co-starred in Gary Marshall’s comedy, Overboard.

Hawn played a rich, spoiled woman who hires a carpenter played by Russell to redo the cabinets on her yacht. When the work is complete, Hawn’s character refuses to pay and pushes Russell’s character overboard (thus the title). Later, Hawn’s character falls overboard herself and develops a case of rom com amnesia. When Russell’s character learns of the situation, he decides to exact his revenge by pretending to be her husband and forcing her to help raise his unruly kids.

Longtime readers know my low opinion of most of Hawn’s films. She kept making unambitious comedies that relied on her charisma to carry them. I am also on record for having a low opinion of director Gary Marshall’s film work. He makes uninspired romantic comedies that are better suited to TV sitcoms. Overboard is exactly what you would expect when you combine these two talents. It is mildly entertaining enough to watch on video but instantly forgettable.

Overboard received mixed reviews and did so-so box office. It fared better on video and has become a staple of basic cable.

The next year, Russell starred opposite Mel Gibson and Michelle Pfeiffer in Robert Towne’s crime drama, Tequila Sunrise.

Gibson played a drug dealer trying to go straight. Russell played his friend, an LA detective who is duty-bound to bust his friend should he deal drugs again. Pfeiffer played the insanely beautiful woman they both fall for.

Reviews were mixed to positive and the movie was a hit at the box office. At the time, all three actors were on the rise. Tequilla Sunrise helped to establish Gibson and Pfeiffer as big name stars. But as the third wheel in the romantic triangle (talk about your mixed metaphors!) Russell didn’t get the same career boost.

I suspect that audiences got whiplash from the way Russell was switching genres. The previous year, he was starring opposite Hawn in a sweet, sappy Gary Marshall rom com. The next, he’s battling Mel Gibson in a sexy noir thriller. We’ll see this again and again over the course of Russell’s career. But it’s hard for audiences to identify him with one type of role or movie. In some ways, it’s great to have that kind of range. But it can also make an actor less marketable at the box office.

The next year, Russell starred opposite Kelly McGillis in the Depression-era drama, Winter People.

Russell played a widower with a daughter who moved into a small, poor Appalachian community during the Great Depression. McGillis played a single mom who takes in Russell and his daughter. Everyone is poor and Appalachian which is depressing enough. But then you set the story during the Great Depression and it just becomes, well, depressing.

The movie received poor reviews and flopped at the box office.

Later that year, Russell co-starred opposite the reigning action star of the 80′s, Sylvester Stallone in Tango and Cash.

Russell and Stallone played cops who (stop me if you’ve heard this one before) don’t get along. Stallone played the buttoned-up Tango while Russell played the maverick Cash. It was Lethal Weapon without the racial diversity, plus more homophobic humor and cross-dressing.

Tango and Cash came out at a time when Stallone was trying to grow beyond his Rambo image. Little by little, he tried to introduce more comedy to his films. In theory, Russell was cast for his ability to do both action and comedy. But that helps to illustrate another problem with Russell’s career. He was a comedic actor who wasn’t especially funny and an action star who wasn’t especially macho.

Also, do you see what I mean about whiplash? Winter People and Tango and Cash came out within months of each other.

Reviews were mostly negative and the film disappointed at the box office. The film was nominated for several Golden Raspberry awards including Russell for Worst Supporting Actress (due to his scene in drag).

In 1991, Russell headed up an all-star cast in Ron Howard’s firefighter drama, Backdraft.

Russell played a firefighter along with Scott Glenn and one of the Baldwins who isn’t Alec. Stephen maybe? Daniel? Grumpy? Is there a Grumpy Baldwin? Oh right, that’s Alec. Billy! It was Billy Baldwin. The movie also co-starred Robert DeNiro as an investigator tracking down an arsonist, Donald Sutherland as an arsonist DeNiro interviews Hannibal Lecter-style and Rebecca De Mornay and Jennifer Jason Leigh as dutiful spouses. In other words, the movie had a lot going on.

Reviews were mixed to positive and the movie was a hit at the box office. Unfortunately for Russell, the movie is so cluttered it’s easy to forget he was in it. Billy Baldwin, the least of all Baldwins, got about as much credit for Backdraft’s success as Russell did.

(I kid Billy. Everyone knows Daniel is the least of all Baldwins.)

In 1992, Russell starred opposite Ray Liotta and Madeleine Stowe in the thriller, Unlawful Entry.

Russell and Stowe play a couple of yuppies who befriend a cop played by Liotta. Because the cop is played by Liotta, he is of course a complete psychopath who becomes obsessed with Stowe. Although really, can you blame him? In 1992, I was obsessed with Stowe too and to the best of much knowledge I was not being played by Ray Liotta.

I don’t even know what that means.

Reviews were mostly positive and the movie was a modest hit at the box office. Unfortunately it came out during a glut of similarly themed thrillers.

Later that year, Russell starred opposite Martin Short in the Disney comedy, Captain Ron.

Short, a brilliant comedian who starred in a lot of shitty movies, stars as an uptight family man who inherits a yacht and decides to take his family on a trip. He hires the zany Captain Ron played with Russell who once again sports an eye patch. Why? Because if he didn’t hire the wacky sailor there wouldn’t be a movie.

Reviews were negative and the movie flopped at the box office. But against all odds, the movie has developed a small but devoted cult following.

In 1993, Russell played Wyatt Earp opposite Val Kilmer’s Doc Holiday in the Western, Tombstone.

Russell and Kevin Costner had planned to make a Wyatt Earp movie together. However, the two could not agree on the focus of the film. So Costner went off and made his own Earp movie with Lawrence Kasdan. It bombed. Russell went on to develop Tombstone with a smaller budget. Originally, Willem Dafoe was cast as Doc Holiday. But Beuna Vista refused to distribute the film with Dafoe because he had starred in the controversial Last Temptation of Christ.

Costner had used his clout to convince every other studio to refuse to distribute Russell’s Wyatt Earp movie. So Russell had no choice but to replace Dafoe with Kilmer in order to get his film released.

Originally, screenwriter Kevin Jarre was hired to direct. But Russell and Kilmer agreed the script was too long with too many characters and subplots. Jarre refused to cut his screenplay and was fired as director. Russell went about trimming down the script cutting many of his own scenes in order to give the other actors more screen time. The film was already two weeks behind schedule and the studio panicked.

According to Russell, he ended up directing Tombstone. But the studio heads wouldn’t trust him with first time director duties. So he was forced to hire George P. Cosmatos to officially direct the film. Cosmatos came recommended to Russell by Sylvester Stallone who had hired him to ghost direct Rambo II. Russell claims he promised to keep his directing duties a secret while Cosmatos was alive. After Cosmatos’ death, Russell took credit for directing Tombstone.

In 1994, Russell co-starred opposite James Spader in Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi action film, Stargate.

Spader played a scientist who discovered a portal to another world which is oddly Egyptian but with space ships and laser weapons. Russell played the military guy tasked with keeping America safe from whatever was on the other side. Which as it turns out was Jaye Davidson from The Crying Game. So, they probably didn’t need a military guy after all.

Reviews were mixed because, let’s face it, Stargate is nonsense. But audiences like a little sci-fi nonsense from time to time and Stargate was a surprise hit. Emmerich had planned to make sequels, but instead the movie spawned a never ending series of TV shows. I hear some of the TV shows were good, but I have never personally attempted to watch them.

Also, rumor has it that Russell provided the voice of Elvis for Forrest Gump in 1994. If the rumor is true, Russell was uncredited.

In 1996, Russell starred opposite Steven Seagal, Halle Berry and John Leguizamo in Die Hard on a Plane… er, Air Force Two… I mean Executive Decision.

Russell played a guy with a gun who stops bad guys on a plane. Do I have to be any more detailed than that? Spoiler alert: Seagal dies early. Halle Berry is hot.

Executive Decision was originally in development at Paramount. Paramount traded the film to Warner Brothers in exchange for the script to Forrest Gump which was seen as a troubled project at the time.

Reviews were mixed to positive and the movie was a modest hit.

Later that year, Russell reprised his role as Snake Plissken for the sequel, Escape From LA.

The sequel has basically the same plot as the original only set on the opposite coast. Reportedly Russell pushed for years to make the film because he said Snake Plissken was his favorite character to play.

Reviews were mixed to negative and the film flopped at the box office. There has been talk of completing the trilogy with Escape From Earth, but the poor performance of the second film has almost certainly killed any chances of that happening.

Incidentally, the dystopian future depicted in Escape From LA takes place in 2013.

In 1997, Russell starred in the crime thriller, Breakdown.

Russell played a yuppie whose car breaks down in the middle of nowhere. Before you know it, his wife has been kidnapped by truckers. The movie follows Russell’s increasingly desperate efforts to rescue his wife from rednecks lead by J. T. Walsh.

Reviews were mostly positive and the movie was a modest hit at the box office.

In 1998, Russell starred in Paul W. S. Anderson’s generically titled sci-fi action movie, Soldier.

I have been known to give Anderson grief because he uses not one middle initial but two which is pretentious on a level few can over hope to match. But also because the guy is a hack best known for the Resident Evil movies. I haven’t seen Soldier, but I was surprised to read that it is about a soldier played by Russell. Apparently the film was intended to be an unofficial sequel to Blade Runner. Because robots.

Russell broke his ankle during the first week of shooting which presented some problems. The shooting schedule was rearranged so all of Russell’s scenes in which he could lie down were shot first. Talk about lying down on the job! Am I right? Ouch. Sorry.

Soldier got bad reviews and tanked at the box office.

In 2001, Russell starred opposite his Wyatt Earp rival, Kevin Costner in the Elvis-themed crime drama, 3000 Miles to Graceland.

Russell and Costner starred as criminals who knock over a Vegas casino with a gang of Elvis impersonators that includes Christian Slater and David Arquette. Costner plays the unstable criminal whereas Russell plays the soulful criminal who really just wants to settle down with a conwoman played by Courtney Cox.

The movie tries really hard to be Tarantino-style cool. But it falls into camp without being much fun. The best scene is the musical number during the closing credits in which Russell shows he still does a mean Elvis.

Here, now you don’t have to watch it:

Did anyone tell Costner he was supposed to be dancing? Oh, that’s how he dances? My bad.

Later that year, Russell had a supporting role opposite Tom Cruise in Cameron Crowe’s sci-fi mind trip, Vanilla Sky.

Cruise played a Tom Cruise-type who is involved in a not so Tom Cruise-ish car accident which leaves him horribly scarred. He spends the rest of the movie wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask while dealing with the possibility that he may be crazy, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz may be the same person and maybe Cameron Crowe isn’t the best director for sci-fi thrillers. Russell played the psychologist who helps Cruise grapple with these and many other issues.

Vanilla Sky was based on the Spanish film Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes) which also starred Cruz. Expectations were sky-high for Crowe and Cruise’s follow-up to their hit film, Jerry Maguire. But neither audiences nor critics knew what to make of Vanilla Sky. Reviews were extremely mixed. The movie opened at number one, but quickly fell as word of mouth spread. Although the movie crossed $100 million dollars, it was still considered a disappointment given the fact it starred the top box office draw in the world at the time.

For Russell, Vanilla Sky was initially looked at as something of a comeback role. But when the movie didn’t live up to expectations, the comeback never materialized.

In 2002, Russell played a corrupt cop in Ron Shelton’s crime drama, Dark Blue.

The movie is based on a story by James Ellroy and takes place during the days leading to and including the Rodney King trial verdict.

Once again, there was comeback buzz, but reviews were mixed and the movie flopped at the box office.

In 2004, Russell starred in Disney’s sports drama, Miracle.

Miracle told the story of the 1980 US hockey team. Russell played coach Herb Brooks who lead the team to victory over the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympics. They actually beat Finland to win the gold medal, but beating the Ruskies was especially satisfying.

The movie opened to decent reviews and was a modest hit at the box office.

In 2005, Russell starred opposite Kelly Preston in Disney’s super hero comedy, Sky High.

Russell and Preston played the world’s most famous super heroes who aren’t owned by Marvel or DC Comics. The movie centers on their son who attends a school for super heroes. Since their son has no powers, he is scheduled to enter training to be a sidekick.

Reviews were generally favorable and the movie was a modest hit at the box office.

Later that year, Russell starred opposite Dakota Fanning in some horse movie called Dreamer. Seriously, I have never heard of this movie. Apparently the reviews and box office were decent. After the film was done filming, Russell bought Fanning a horse which she named Goldie.

In 2006, Russell starred in Wolfgang Petersen’s remake of the 1972 disaster flick, The Poseidon Adventure. The remake was called Poseidon.

Russell played a former NYC mayor who boards the doomed cruise ship, the Poseidon. And before you can say “Shelley Winters”, the boat turns upside down.

The remake received negative reviews and flopped at the box office. Some might even say it was a disaster…

Really, what is it with me today.

When an actor is down on his luck, it is common for fans to say that he needs to work for Quentin Tarantino who is well known for his ability to revive flagging careers. In 2007, Russell did exactly that in Death Proof which was shown as a double bill with Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror under the title Grindhouse.

Russell played an evil stuntman who uses his stunt car which is supposed to be death proof to run down and kill unsuspecting young girls he meets at a bar.

Tarantino had tried to cast a number of big names. But none of the actors he wanted were available. Eventually, he settled on Russel because as he puts it:

“For people of my generation, he’s a true hero…but now, there’s a whole audience out there that doesn’t know what Kurt Russell can do. When I open the newspaper and see an ad that says ‘Kurt Russell in Dreamer,’ or ‘Kurt Russell in Miracle,’ I’m not disparaging these movies, but I’m thinking: When is Kurt Russell going to be a badass again?”

There was definitely comeback buzz surrounding Russell’s performance in Death Proof. Unfortunately, Tarantino was in a bit of a slump at the time. Reviews were generally positive, but Grindhouse disappointed at the box office.

Later that year, Russell appeared in Kate Hudson’s directorial debut, Cutlass. Cutlass was a short film which costarred Virginia Madsen, Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart and Chevy Chase. Here it is in its entirety:

In 2012, Russell again played a coach. This time in the football movie, Touchback. It received mostly negative reviews and was only given a limited theatrical release.

Later this year, Russel is scheduled to appear in a comedy called The Art of the Steal. The fact that I have never heard of this movie probably doesn’t bode well for its future.

So what the hell happened?

Let me reiterate that Russell’s decade-spanning career is beyond impressive. But despite appearing in a truly staggering number of movies, Russell never became an A-list actor as many expected.

Over the course of his career, Russell faced a number of challenges. Like any child actor, he struggled to be taken seriously as an adult. On top of that, Russell had the stigma of being a Disney kid during one of Disney’s least cool decades. Russell was surprisingly successful at overcoming these obstacles. But even as an adult, Russell struggled with an identity crisis.

He made a name for himself in low-budget action films. But that lead to him being associated with B-grade films. He branched out into comedy, but he was never really seen as a comedian. He received praise for his dramatic work in Silkwood, but never managed to capitalize on that success.

You’ll notice that I used the term “modest success” describing many of Russell’s films. To use a baseball analogy, Russell scored a lot of base hits. But over the course of his long career, he never really hit one out of the park.

[zaka...@gmail.com]

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I didn't read all of it but knowing the politics of Hollywood, I suspect it had something to do with that. Because Russell is an A-Quality actor and my favorite actor. I am a film junkie and I find him to be the most entertaining, while being subtle and realistic and more importantly extremely likeable. Jack Burton is an all-time great character which is 100% Russell. The Thing is awesome because of Russell's subtlety throughout the chess match with the "Thing". But I am pretty sure Kurt Russell leans to the right and he said more than once that he is a libertarian. God forbid he isn't a bleeding heart that wants government programs for everything. If you read interviews, many up and coming and modern actors have to hide their political beliefs in fear of their careers being hurt and in some cases destroyed. Jon Voight, a conservative, is a highly respected actor across the board but he is from a different generation. With new technology and mass media, rumors become perception which become facts. I think this has definitely hindered his roles with better directors. But he has A-List talent. So I disagree with your premise. In fact, between Escape from New York, The Thing, Big Trouble in LC, Tombstone are all home runs. In fact, the amount of cult films he stars in speaks to the genuine consumer and true fans of films. There are so many elitist reviewers, who are frankly, too old or too young to understand certain films. Just like everyone else, they're not perfect. But Breakdown was a great movie. The Miracle is a very good movie mostly because of Russell's portrayal. I think the reason his successful films are not more celebrated is because of politics. He's not "Hollywood's guy". So I think there is a misinterpreted perception of mild to moderate success when it's actually great success simply by judging the longevity of his career and the legend of his characters and performances, which people still watch with great enthusiasm. I think Russell is the every man's American for those born between the 70s and mid 80s. I even think his raw talent is better than a lot of these A-List. It's _how_ you judge success. Vin Diesel is and may be more remembered and celebrated than Russell, but we all know who has more talent. So a lot of A-List actors are because they base movies for young kids and idiots, not true film lovers. He also doesn't seem too flashy or pretentious, which doesn't fit in with Hollywood or the media types who want to talk about only you and want you to talk about only you. I am not sure that is in Russell's persona.