Career
Russell started his film career at the age of ten in an uncredited part in Elvis Presley's It Happened at the World's Fair. At the age of twelve he landed a big part for a juvenile actor: the lead role as the orphan Jaimie in the TV western The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). Based on the book by Robert Lewis Taylor, this series also starred Dan O'Herlihy, Charles Bronson, and the very young Osmond Brothers.
The young Russell was soon signed to a ten-year contract with the Walt Disney Company, reportedly by Walt Disney himself. He starred in many Disney films, such as Follow Me, Boys! (1966), The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) and The Strongest Man in the World (1975).
Russell also had a baseball career (Russell's father had been a baseball player for a while). In the early 1970s, Russell played second base for the minor league franchise of the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim). He led his league in hitting with a .563 batting average. During a play, he was hit in the shoulder by another player running to second base. The collision tore the rotator cuff in one of Russell's shoulders. The injury forced his retirement from baseball in 1973, and he returned to acting.
Russell was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special (1979) for the made-for-television film Elvis. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (1984) for Silkwood.
Personal life
Kurt Russell as Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neil in Stargate
Russell married actress Season Hubley, whom he had met on the set of Elvis in 1979 and they had a son, Boston. In 1983, in the middle of his divorce from Hubley, Russell met Goldie Hawn on the set of the film Swing Shift and they've been in a relationship ever since. The couple also filmed 1987's Overboard together. They had a son, Wyatt, in 1986 and Hawn's daughter Kate Hudson considers Russell to be her dad.[1]
Russell is a prominent member of the United States Libertarian Party. He claims that he was often 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 (he co-wrote Escape from L.A.). In February 2003, Russell and Hawn moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, so that their son could play hockey.
Filmography
It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)
Follow Me, Boys! 1966
Mosby's Marauders (1967)
Guns in the Heather (1968)
The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968)
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968)
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969)
The Barefoot Executive (1971)
Fools' Parade (1971)
Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972)
Charley and the Angel (1973)
Superdad (1973)
The Strongest Man in the World (1975)
The Captive: The Longest Drive 2 (1976)
Used Cars (1980)
Escape from New York (1981)
The Fox and the Hound (1981) (voice)
The Thing (1982)
Silkwood (1983)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
The Best of Times (1986)
Overboard (1987)
Tequila Sunrise (1988)
Tango & Cash (1989)
Backdraft (1991)
Captain Ron (1992)
Tombstone (1993)
Stargate (1994)
Forrest Gump (1994) - uncredited
Executive Decision (1996)
Escape from LA (1996)
Breakdown (1997)
Soldier (1998)
3000 Miles To Graceland (2001)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Interstate 60 (2002)
Dark Blue (2003)
Miracle (2004)
Sky High (2005)
Dreamer (2005)
Poseidon (2006)
