Herb Brooks and Kurt Russell: A Meeting Of the Minds

A still (below the fold) from the filmed interview of Kurt Russell and Herb Brooks, in preparation for the film Miracle – the story of the 1980 Olympic hockey team, which of course – as all my regulars (I sound like an old whore) all know – is a story of which I never tire. Russell (along with Gavin O’Connor, the director, and others) were in a hotel conference room in Los Angeles, asking Herb Brooks a bazillion questions. The interview can be seen in the DVD extras, and is a must-see, as far as I’m concerned. Not just the film – but all of the extras as well.

But I’m also of the mindset that Kurt Russell’s portrayal of Herb Brooks was one of the most under-sung under-praised over-looked unfairly ignored all-time GREAT performances of the last 20, 30 years. I don’t use the term “great” lightly. What Russell did in that film qualifies, 100 times over.

February 22, 1980

Re-creation of February 22, 1980

Unbelievable performance. Impeccably meticulous, and yet emotional in a primal way. A combination like that (meticulous and primal) is as rare as they come (think Brando, think Streep, think Wayne) … that’s the level Kurt Russell was at in his portrayal of Herb Brooks. (More of my thoughts on his performance here.)

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4 Responses to Herb Brooks and Kurt Russell: A Meeting Of the Minds

  1. Joe Valdez says:

    I skipped over Miracle because it seemed yet another in the cycle of inspirational sports film Disney was mass producing for a while.

    However, I have heard a number of directors whose names escape me mention over the years that Kurt Russell is one of Hollywood’s best kept secrets.

    I can’t remember Russell ever politicking for an award nomination. He’s never produced or directed or started a company. He just seems to have acting in his blood and has turned in one solid performance after another for four decades. His work in Grindhouse was a tremendous culmination of his abilities and I’m glad to see you mention him, Sheila.

  2. red says:

    One other thing I did not mention about his performance is that it is a dead-on imitation of Herb Brooks, whose way of talking and looking and moving was very distinctive. Russell disappears in the role. I’ve been obsessed with the 1980 hockey team for years – so I felt very proprietary, almost, about the story – so I was crossing my fingers about the film – and was MORE than happy with it. Especially Russell – who embodies Herb Brooks in a way that has to be seen to be believed.

    You should check it out!

  3. Emily says:

    Yeah, even Patty Brooks said he captured Herb perfectly. That’s a pretty big compliment.

    Sometimes it actually hurts to think about how good Kurt Russell was in this movie. Somewhere on the DVD extras somebody said it – I can’t remember where or who, but that shot at the end, where they show a picture of Herbie under the caption “he never saw it. He lived it” (okay, um…are you trying to KILL me?), you barely realize that’s not the same man you’ve been watching for the last 90 minutes.

    Unbelievable. Such a remarkable, consistent piece of work on Russell’s part.

  4. red says:

    Ohhhhh!! Duh – of course! There was a TV show called On the Razzle … which I knew I had never seen.

    I thought it was called something else, though …. Jump?

    Whoever that actor was, he was wonderful – he did look like a big bear of a guy like that Simon Russell dude …

    Is that it? Wait a sec – I wrote about it – let me check.

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