{"id":162355,"date":"2026-03-17T08:30:54","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T12:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162355"},"modified":"2026-03-17T09:32:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T13:32:02","slug":"162355","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162355","title":{"rendered":"“If it hadn’t been for the videocassette, I may not have had a career at all.” — Kurt Russell"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nIt’s his birthday today. How I love him. I grew up with him. The Computer Who Wore Tennis Shoes<\/i>. I remember that being screened for us in grade school in what they called “the multi-purpose room” (lol: gym, cafeteria, theatre). And I loved him, I loved his face. I didn’t think “handsome” because I was 10, but there was something in him I related to. This continues to be the case. He reaches out to audiences, and you’re on his side. It’s that simple. <\/p>\n

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\nBut that’s the thing: It’s NOT simple. What Kurt Russell has naturally, other actors try to acquire. But you can’t<\/em> really acquire it. It doesn’t work if you have to work<\/em> at it. Personal charisma can’t be taught. <\/p>\n

I love that one of his earliest roles was in It Happened at the World’s Fair<\/i>, an Elvis movie, where he kicks Elvis in the shins – at Elvis’ bidding, because Elvis wants an excuse to go visit a hot nurse he just saw walking by. He pays the little whippersnapper and the kid hauls off and kicks him in the shins.<\/p>\n

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\nIt’s surreal, almost, that just over 15 years later, Kurt Russell would PLAY Elvis, in the 1979 John Carpenter-directed television movie, the first movie to “deal with” Elvis after Elvis passed away. <\/p>\n

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\nHe’s fantastic as Elvis. It’s a thoughtful and deeply empathetic performance, and his “imitation” is fantastic. Elvis is easy to imitate and\/or mock, but very hard to embody. Try to do an imitation of Elvis and do it seriously, organically. It’s not as easy as it looks. I wrote about the movie here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Russell’s career has had many different phases, and there have been certain moments when he surged forward into an obviously new phase, but in general there has been no fallow periods. He’s never fallen so off the radar that he needs to climb his way back. Slow and steady wins the race. He’s been a star since he was a child. He has a very practical attitude. He’s not straining for the brass ring, and it shows. This is a compliment. Oscars don’t communicate actual WORTH. I mean, they’re fun and all, but it wasn’t until I started hanging out with film critics that I realized … wow, people take them this seriously? Actors and show folk of course are interested in the awards, and even get invested in their faves – but … they know that an Oscar doesn’t equal actual WORTH. The Oscars are important in terms of careers and opportunities. But none of it has to do with WORTH. Very very worthy films – and artists – have never been nominated. <\/p>\n

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\nKurt Russell is one of the best actors we’ve got and he’s not “in the conversation” of the Oscars – at all – and he doesn’t run his career trying to get that statue. This is more a comment on the Oscars culture than on him. Cary Grant never got a “competitive” Oscar. Kurt Russell may never win an Oscar. He’s never even been nominated. If I were in charge of the world, and if Oscars actually meant what was worthy, he would have been nominated for Best Supporting in Silkwood<\/i>, he would have been nominated for Best Actor in Miracle<\/i>. <\/p>\n

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\nSilkwood<\/i> came out in 1983, and his performance will never “date”. It’s one of his very best. He makes it look easy. He doesn’t linger<\/i> or belabor<\/i> over things. You don’t feel like he’s slumming<\/i>, the way you sometimes feel when actors play working-class. He’s casual<\/i> about things, casual meaning: he doesn’t make a huge deal out of himself, because it’s not ABOUT him. It’s about: what story is being told? How does my character help tell this story? What can I do to help this story be told? This type of thing doesn’t have to do with talent. It has to do with where he focuses his talent. Because he’s casual with his talent, because he doesn’t make a big deal out of it, because he doesn’t seem to need our approval … or even our attention … we DO pay attention. We are in a relationship with him. <\/p>\n

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\nMaybe because he focuses on story rather than on self, he’s not positional about his career: none of it appears over-planned. The biggest segue he had to go through was from being a child star, associated with Disney, to a young man, free of all that. First he did the Elvis<\/i> movie, which began the process. Then, in 1980 and 1981, he made Used Cars<\/i> and Escape from New York<\/i>, and that was that. If you want to kill your Disney child-star past, then that’s the way to do it. He didn’t tiptoe his way into adult stardom. He took a blowtorch to any Disney expectations, by appearing in the most cynical American comedy ever made, and then as the badass-iest badass ever onscreen, eyepatch and all. <\/p>\n

This focus on story – on “this script sounds good, let’s do it” – leads him down more interesting paths than he might take otherwise. I think it’s the main reason that he’s been in a number of movies that have gone on to be stone-cold cult favorites. Directors are smart. They trust him. They WANT him. He’s a movie star. He’s a great actor. He’s fearless and funny. He’s sexy. He can be very VERY dark. He can also be a clown. When he’s allowed to express his cynicism and pessimism, he’s electric and unpredictable. He’s got an EDGE. A steely EDGE – this is not something you associate with former Disney child stars. <\/p>\n

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\nIn my opinion, he can do anything. Oscars Shmoscars. <\/p>\n

For my column at Film Comment<\/i>, I wrote about two movies starring Kurt Russell: <\/p>\n

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\n2020 was the 40th anniversary of the “miracle on ice”, so I wrote about the 2004 movie Miracle<\/i><\/a> for my Film Comment column, including commentary on other hockey-related films, and also Kurt Russell’s amazing performance as coach Herb Brooks. <\/p>\n

The second piece for Film Comment<\/i> was something I had been wanting to write about for years: a piece on Robert Zemeckis’ Used Cars<\/i><\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\nThe movie was a flop. But it helped wrench Kurt Russell as far away from Disney as possible. It’s one of my faves. Russell got to be charming, but he got to use his charm in service of something calculating, cunning, and dishonest. A sweet spot! He may very well be the Last of the Great Rakes. I love a good RAKE and it’s a character type quickly vanishing from the earth … and we will miss them when they all go. <\/p>\n

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\nThank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my Venmo account<\/a>. And I’ve launched a Substack, Sheila Variations 2.0<\/a>, if you’d like to subscribe.<\/em> <\/small><\/p>\n