Kurt Russell’s major issues with his most iconic roles: “Who gives a shit?”
When it comes to iconic roles, Kurt Russell has played more than most. After all, this is the star who brought Wyatt Earp to life in Tombstone, terrified and charmed audiences in equal measure as Stuntman Mike in Death Proof, and effortlessly imbued maverick cop Gabriel Cash with likeable charisma in Tango and Cash. However, Russell’s most enduring roles are undoubtedly the ones he played for longtime collaborator John Carpenter in the 1980s, even if he had significant issues with two of them.
In 1981, Russell secured his place in action movie history as Snake Plissken in Carpenter’s Escape from New York. The ultra-cool, eye-patch-wearing, leather-clad antihero became an instant icon, earning Russell a permanent spot in the hearts of Comic-Con devotees. Recognising the magic of their collaboration, Russell wisely reunited with Carpenter the following year for The Thing—a film arguably even more cherished by die-hard horror and sci-fi fans. Russell himself holds the film in high regard, though he did initially take issue with one of Carpenter’s more unusual choices for his character MacReady’s wardrobe.
In 2024, Russell sat down with GQ to discuss his most famous roles and revealed that he was confused when he reported to wardrobe to find out what grizzled Arctic helicopter pilot MacReady would be wearing in The Thing. Russell chuckled: “I noticed, sitting over on this chair by itself, was this enormous sombrero. And finally, at some point, I said to the wardrobe person, ‘What’s the deal with the sombrero?’ And they said, ‘Oh, that’s your hat.'”
Russell was stunned. After all, there was no way he wouldn’t look like an idiot in an oversized Mexican sombrero, especially in such an otherwise bleak, foreboding film. He exclaimed: “I’m not fucking wearing that hat. It’s insane. What are you talking about? No!” to which the wardrobe person sheepishly replied, “Well, John’s already been shooting some stuff with it.” To Russell’s horror, he found out Carpenter had already filmed a handful of establishing shots with a MacReady stand-in, complete with sombrero, and he couldn’t comprehend why.
When Russell confronted his director, though, the explanation he received actually made a lot of sense. Carpenter felt the sombrero neatly conveyed the idea that MacReady had become disillusioned with life at the research station and had taken to drowning himself in a bottle, so he truly didn’t care what anyone thought about how he looked. “Sometimes, there’s a lot of things that somebody else sees that you don’t see,” Russell admitted. “You have to be open for these things. That’s a tough one because it’s just you wearing this big-ass goofy thing on your head. But that’s where John had no fear.”
Four years after The Thing, Russell and Carpenter reunited on Big Trouble in Little China, an action-comedy with a decidedly lighter tone than their previous ’80s collaborations. Carpenter hilariously chose to present his martial arts film from the perspective of Russell’s lunkheaded American trucker Jack Burton, an idiot with a good heart who doesn’t seem to realise that he’s not actually the movie’s hero. Naturally, as with most Carpenter movies, the film struggled at the box office but became a cult classic in later years – and Russell believes that’s because the people behind the movie’s marketing campaign dropped the ball.
On the film’s DVD commentary track, Russell bemoaned that the campaign tried to create a sense of mystery around Burton despite the audience having no familiarity with the character. He chuckled at the TV spots, which asked leading questions like “Who is Jack Burton?” and “Where is he going?” to which even Russell himself couldn’t help replying, “Who gives a shit? I don’t know who that is, and I don’t care.” Russell also believed Drew Struzan’s lavishly painted movie poster was a misfire, too – because while Burton was front and centre, the likeness resembled Jeff Bridges more than it did Russell.
