Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor and producer. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company where, according to Robert Osborne, he became the studio's top star of the 1970s.
Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance in Silkwood (1983). In the 1980s, he starred in several films directed by John Carpenter, including anti-hero roles such as army hero-turned-robber Snake Plissken in the futuristic action film Escape from New York (1981), and its sequel Escape from L.A. (1996), helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the horror film The Thing (1982), and truck driver Jack Burton in the kung-fu comedy action film Big Trouble in Little China (1986). He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the television film Elvis (1979), also directed by Carpenter.
Russell starred in other films, including Overboard (1987), Tango & Cash (1989), Backdraft (1991) Tombstone (1993), Stargate (1994), Miracle (2004), Sky High (2005), Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also appeared in The Fast and the Furious franchise, having starred in Furious 7 (2015) and The Fate of the Furious (2017). Russell subsequently portrayed Santa Claus in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020).
The Guardian named him one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.
Last Updated: June 9, 2021
