Kurt Russell names his favourite American actor: “He’s flawless”
Across his long career, Kurt Russell has proven that he can pretty much do it all. He’s been the star of sci-fi horror classic The Thing, action romp Escape from New York, superhero blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, exploitation homage Death Proof, and just about everything in between. If you need him to be a handsome hero, he can do it. If you need him to be a despicable villain, he can do it. If you need him to be a suave charmer who gets off on killing women with his car… well, you get the idea.
Russell probably features on a lot of people’s lists of ‘favourite actors’. Walt Disney was a big fan, supposedly changing part of one of his classic movies because he said so. Who does the man himself think is the best of the best, though? He’s worked with some of the best to ever do it, however, according to the DVD commentary of the movie Breakdown, the answer is a name most people may never have heard of.
As covered by Film School Rejects, Russell and director Jonathan Mostow both independently sought out J T Walsh for a part in the film. Russell refers to him as his favourite American actor. “He’s flawless,” he said. “Nothing fake, nothing phony”. Walsh was approached about joining the movie and he said yes, fulfilling both men’s dream castings.
Breakdown was a mid-sized success at the time it was released in 1997 but has since expanded its status to cult favourite, with devoted fans placing it amongst the very best thrillers of the 1990s. Russell plays Jeff Taylor, who is travelling with his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) when their car breaks down. They are approached by a trucker named Red (Walsh) who at first seems to be friendly. Things take a turn when Red kidnaps Amy, forcing her husband to embark on a journey of revenge to get her back.
According to Mostow, who also made Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and nearly directed Russell in a scrapped sequel to Escape from New York, Walsh took a very active role in crafting his character. When the noted character actor first saw the script, he apparently took a pen and removed almost half of his own dialogue. When Mostow questioned this decision, he replied, “I am a much better villain if I don’t need anything from him, just the money. Anytime I need something emotional from him it takes away my own power.” This decision made Red much easier to hate, a vile man with no motive other than pure self-interest. He may not be the most complicated antagonist of all time, but he sure is effective.
Prior to Breakdown, Walsh had honed his craft in a range of movies. One of his earliest appearances was Woody Allen’s Hannah and Her Sisters, which he followed up the next year with a role in Good Morning, Vietnam. He must have made a good impression on Russell because, in 1997, he had a part in Hope, the directorial debut of Russell’s wife, Goldie Hawn. Sadly, this was one of his last gigs, as he died of a heart attack in 1998. He was only 54.
Walsh’s story sadly doesn’t have a happy ending, but he left behind an incredible legacy in his relatively short life. Getting into the good books of an actor the calibre of Russell is a dream come true for any actor and is testimony to just how great he was.
