Ahead, a reflective Russell not only discusses The Hateful Eight, but he also compares it to Tombstone, another famous Western he starred in (and, at the time, secretly directed). Actually, over the course of this interview, 17 of Russell’s films are discussed. (As it turns out, Russell is still a big fan of Sky High.)
Kurt Russell has appeared in more than 50 movies spanning the last 50 years. Many, many were very popular movies. It seems like even more have became cult favorites, which Russell is very aware of. He also, rightfully, feels he plays a role in their lasting popularity. (Honestly, there’s really not an easy way to write an introduction for Kurt Russell because this is Kurt Russell. Where do you even begin?)
Russell is now starring in The Hateful Eight, his second collaboration with Quentin Tarantino after 2007’s Death Proof. In The Hateful Eight, Russell plays an ornery cuss named John Ruth – a bounty hunter who is known for always bringing his prisoners in alive, even when that’s not a prerequisite. His latest bounty (Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Daisy Domergue) will net him $10,000, but now he’s trapped in a Wyoming blizzard with numerous other folks who may or may not be after his reward.
I’m glad you’re in The Hateful Eight. I was disappointed when Django Unchained didn’t work out.
Oh, yeah, Django was kind of an unfortunate series of events, timing wise. I was headed for Greece and they were falling way behind. By the time they got to me, Quentin was having to trim as much as he possibly could. And that was one of the first things that was very trimmable – and finally we just got to the point where we looked at each other and said, “Should we do this at another time?” And it was like, “Yeah.” So, when this came along, I was just going to do a script reading…
Which everyone loved.
Yeah, which was really fun to do. And then they decided to make the movie. Which was great, I was very happy to play John Ruth. I loved the character and loved what it could be. And always getting to work with Quentin is very, very special.
Is that a weird process? Reading a script in front of an audience, then making it into a movie?
Yeah, I’ve never done that before, where you read it in front of people. It wasn’t to be judged, but I remember the next day, there was a review of it!
It might have been the next hour.
Yeah, probably. I was like, “Whoa, what is that?” I don’t know, I never thought much about it. I was just doing it because Quentin wanted to do it. It was fun to do! The actors were fun. It was obviously in the ballpark enough for it to continue forward. What mattered was the ability to actually do it – it belongs in movie form. It would be kind of fun to do this as a play, I gotta say we’ve actually talked about that a little bit from time to time when we were working on it. I think it would be a hell of a play. And to see it with the original cast, I think would be, of course, a lot of fun.
I have a feeling you’d sell some tickets.
I think it would be fun to do! It would be fun to do it, to watch it. I think it would be fun to see what he’d do, script-wise, to change it. But, really, I don’t know of any Broadway play that I’ve ever heard of that was a movie then they took the original cast and made a play of it. That would be unique. That would be fun.
It’s as long as a play.
Yeah, it lends itself.
With the amount of movies that you’ve been in, can you look around while filming and tell it’s working?
You can. And in this case, it was a real strong feeling about how special the opportunity was to spend each day with each other under the guise and leadership of Quentin when he was at his absolute peak. I got the opportunity – I’m one of the fortunate few to be able to say I worked with Quentin when he was at the peak of his powers and absolutely in his prime, as well.
Tombstone was a well-documented hard shoot. Was The Hateful Eight the opposite?
Well, not really. Here’s the thing: Tombstone was a difficult thing to do because of certain circumstances. But it was also very pleasurable because we felt what we were putting in the can was awfully good and would have a lot of impact, hopefully put together in a way that would create that. But we didn’t have Tarantino…
But Tombstone had you, which you’ve admitted you ghost directed.
But, in all honesty, I had to go straight forward to shooting Stargate…
So, editing-wise?
So, the editing room aspect was a big thing. After it was put together, I did have some input that changed things for, I think, the positive. But, it wasn’t from the get-go. You know, it wasn’t the same thing. All I’m saying is that in that regard, it was a different experience. But it wasn’t the opposite. There were a lot of similarities that were good things. The things that were similarities? Let’s start with the screenplay. Kevin Jarre’s screenplay was very excellent because of the style it could be. But, Tarantino’s style is completely different.
You know, when you’re doing Tarantino, in and of itself, it’s going to be unique. And this one is a true Western; it has aspects of old Westerns, it has aspects of television Westerns, and certainly aspects of spaghetti Westerns. And the fact that Morricone did the music and the fact that it had a connection to, certainly for Quentin, because he showed us the movie before we started, The Thing — and the aspect of paranoia and people stuck in a building because of the weather. And the fact that Morricone did the music for that one… I love sharing a lot of these pieces that were part of a puzzle. But, I gotta tell you, at the end of the day, just having the opportunity to work with Quentin at this time on this one – given this role, given these players. It was a pretty tough experience. Pretty great.
You never “officially” directed after directing Tombstone behind the scenes. Does being around Tarantino give you that itch at all?
Here’s the thing: I’ve done the job. I wanted to always just be an actor for hire. And I always figured I could be an actor for hire, go on the set, and do whatever I could to help the director get his vision made. If the director and I were seeing the movie the same way, which we already discussed before I’d say “yes,” then I could be very much in cahoots with the director and I’ve done that many times. But I can also go home at night and not deal with certain aspects of it. No doubt about it, directing is a lot of fun to do, but I had a life to live and I wanted to live it the way I wanted to live it. And I feel for the directors I worked with, who I was close to – that was good enough for me. Sometimes I had to be closer than others. [Laughs.]
Speaking of notable directors, I wish more people had seen Used Cars.
Yeah! Bob Zemeckis…
It was on cable constantly when I was a little kid.
The people who know Used Cars, talk about a small clan of people who love a cult movie. Boy, they are rabid. You know what was great about that? From my point of view, I knew I was working with somebody who was in the process of hitting their stride, and when they did hit their stride, it was going to be just awesome. Look, Bob’s done great stuff and I think he’s special, and he was terrific to work with. I would hope that opportunity would come again because he was just awesome. I think he’s great.
I remember being shocked when my parents told me the actor playing Rudy was the same actor who played Dexter in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, which was also on cable a lot.
[Laughs.] “That’s the same guy?” That’s funny. But Used Cars is like Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York. Even Overboard! Some of these movies, like Tombstone… Its got its own life, its own world.
You have a knack for that. A lot of your movies stick around.
Yeah, they do. They hold up.
Is there a reason?
[Laughs.] I was in them!
That’s a good answer.
[Laughing.] I was in them and I helped make them! That’s what I like to think. I say that laughingly, but I also mean it.
I think there’s truth to that.
That’s what matters. What matters is whether or not something holds up, weather or not it’s right for its time – whether or not it’s going to have a studio behind it, pushing it the right way or whether or not an audience wants to see it. You never know. To me, those are questions that I can’t answer. What I can answer is how to make the movie and how to play a part and how to get the story told. That’s the business I was in, and that’s the business I’m still in, and it’s the business I like.
Were you always a collaborator? Even in the John Carpenter movies?
Well, John and I – I just love what John wrote and I love the way John made his movies. I didn’t have to say much to John. I’d just ask John, “Like this? Like this? Is this what you want to do here?” I just wanted to make sure that what he wanted was getting on film, that’s all. John Carpenter is somebody that I just love working with. I just love the way he made movies. I love the mentality he had in the process. He’s another one; I was just fortunate enough to work with him. Mike Nichols, Ron Howard, there are probably 15 directors. Breakdown, that was Jonathan Mostow. Gavin O’Connor with Miracle, I think he’s terrific.
You get somebody that sees things and you can talk about them and feel like you’re headed down the same track, that’s one thing. Then every once in awhile – there’s something special about Tarantino. His whole world — he’s creating a universe that you get to play in and that is extremely special.
You described yourself earlier as an “actor for hire” and you’re obviously a driving force…
Well, I say that facetiously. It’s like a hired gun. And I do consider myself a hired gun as an actor. But, look, I’ve done a lot. I’ve been around a long time. I’ve kept my ears and my eyes open. Am I a good one to have in the barn? I think so. I can help more than just stand there and say the lines, you know?
Another movie I still hear people mention today that I never thought would stick around, Captain Ron.
Captain Ron, yeah. Do you know another one that’s good? Sky High. Sky High is really funny! And it’s the same kind of thing. I love that it’s going to have a life. I’ll tell you one that’s starting to have a life now that you wouldn’t think of that way, it’s Death Proof.
I have noticed it has had a resurgence.
Yeah, all of a sudden people are now coming up to me saying, “You know what, I just saw this Death Proof. God, I love that.” Well, Death Proof was part of a concept. It was part of Grindhouse. The whole concept was confusing for the audience, I understand that – I think the release was a difficult one for them to find.
People weren’t sure if it was one movie or two movies.
It’s two movies with commercials and it was an awful lot of fun. I enjoyed them. But it was confusing to hear about. And it came out at Easter, who knows? There are a million reasons. Point being, the movie is good. Death Proof is what it is and it’s a Tarantino movie, for crying out loud! But, I love that people are beginning to find that movie.
For more Hateful Eight coverage, don’t miss our interviews with Walton Goggins and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Mike Ryan lives in New York City and has written for The Huffington Post, Wired, Vanity Fair and New York magazine. He is senior entertainment writer at Uproxx. You can contact him directly on Twitter.
