Kurt Russell

Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American television and film actor. He has portrayed Colonel Jack O'Neil in the first Stargate franchise movie simply entitled Stargate.

Early life
Russell was born on March 17, 1951, in, the son of Louise Julia (née Crone), a dancer; and Neil Oliver "Bing" Russell, a character actor, best known for playing Deputy Clem Foster on . In 1969 Russell graduated from.

Late 1950s–1960s
Russell began his career in the late 1950s with an appearance as a child in the pilot of the ABC western television series  with. His film career began at the age of eleven in an uncredited part in 's ' and two extra episodes, celebrating the tenth anniversary of the then defunct series Rin Tin Tin''. On April 24, 1963, Russell guest starred in the ABC series , starring as an English butler in an American family. He appeared in 1963 as Peter Hall in the episode "Everybody Knows You Left Me" on the  about  The Eleventh Hour.

Later in 1963, he landed a big part for a juvenile actor: the lead role as Jaimie in the ABC Western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). In 1964, he guest-starred in "Nemesis", an episode of the popular ABC series The Fugitive in which, as the son of police Lt. Phillip Gerard, he is unintentionally kidnapped by his father's quarry, Doctor. That same year he appeared on The Virginian as a mistaken orphan whose father was an outlaw played by who was still alive and recently released from prison looking for his son. He played a similar role as a kid named Packy Kerlin in the 1964 episode "Blue Heaven" of the western series .

On February 6, 1965, Russell, not quite fourteen, played the role of Jungle Boy on an episode of CBS's . He guest starred on ABC's western The Legend of Jesse James. In 1967, he appeared in the episode "Charade of Justice" of the NBC western series . In a March 1966 episode of CBS's  entitled "The Challenge", he played Quano, the son of a planetary ruler. In the same year he played a starring role in Disney's . He then went on to star in ' and '.

1970s
In 1971, he co-starred as a young robber released from jail, alongside in . Russell was soon signed to a ten-year contract with the, where he became, according to , the "studio's top star of the '70s". He later auditioned for the role of in Star Wars but lost the role to.

Russell, like his father, had a baseball career. In the early 1970s, Russell played second base for the California Angels minor league affiliates, the, , and El Paso Sun Kings. During a play, he was hit in the shoulder by a player running to second base; the collision tore the in Russell's right/throwing shoulder. Before his injury, he was leading the in hitting, with a .563 batting average. The injury forced his retirement from baseball in 1973 and led to his return to acting.

In the autumn of 1976, Russell appeared with in the 15-episode NBC series The Quest, the story of two young men in the  seeking the whereabouts of their sister, a captive of the Cheyenne.

In 1979, Russell was nominated for an for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for the made-for-television film Elvis. This would be his first pairing with, the director of Halloween. Although Russell did not perform the singing vocals in the series—which were provided by country music artist —he would later go on to provide the voice of Elvis Presley in the 1994 film .

1980s
Over the 1980s, Russell would team with Carpenter several times, helping create some of his best-known roles, usually as anti-heroes, including the infamous of ' and its sequel, '. Among their collaborations was 1982's The Thing. In 1986, the two made , a dark kung-fu comedy/action film in which Russell played a truck driver caught in an ancient Chinese war. While the film was a financial failure like The Thing, it has since gained a cult audience.

connections have run like a thread through his career. Aside from appearing as a child in one of Presley's films and giving a convincing portrayal of the singer in the 1979 television biopic, Russell starred as an Elvis impersonator involved in a Las Vegas robbery in ' and provided the voice of Elvis for a scene in '.

Russell is one of the very few famous child stars in Hollywood who has been able continue his acting career past his teen years. Russell received award nominations well into middle age. He was nominated for a for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for his performance opposite  in the 1984 film, .

1990s–2000s
In 1991, Russell was cast alongside as a firefighter in Backdraft. In 1994, he starred as Colonel Jack O'Neil in the film Stargate.

His portrayal of U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks in the 2004 film, Miracle, won the praise of critics.

In 2006, Russell revealed that he was the director of Tombstone, not George P. Cosmatos, as credited. According to Russell, Cosmatos was recommended by Sylvester Stallone and was, in effect, a ghost director, much as he had been for . Russell said he promised Cosmatos he would keep it a secret as long as Cosmatos was alive; Cosmatos died in April 2005. Russell owns the rights to the masters and makes reference to possibly re-editing the film, as he was not originally involved in the editing.

Russell appeared as villain Stuntman Mike in 's segment  of the film Grindhouse.

Personal life
Russell married actress, whom he had met on the set of Elvis in 1979; they had a son, Boston Russell, in 1980. In 1983, in the middle of his divorce from Hubley, Russell re-connected with on the set of the film Swing Shift, and they have been in a relationship ever since. They had a son, Wyatt, in 1986. One year later, in 1987, the couple starred in the film Overboard. Hawn's son and daughter with Bill Hudson, actors Oliver and, consider Russell to be their father.

Russell is a libertarian. In 1996, he stated: "I was brought up as a Republican. But when I realized that at the end of the day there wasn't much difference between a Democrat and Republican, I became a libertarian."

In February 2003, Russell and Hawn moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, so that their son could play hockey. Russell is an FAA licensed private pilot holding single/multi-engine and instrument ratings and is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope.

Actor

 * Colonel Jack O'Neil (Stargate)