With no single iconic image to parody, no genre throne to reclaim, Kurt Russell busied himself bobbing and weaving through the '90s, performing feats such as playing Captain Ron and Wyatt Earp within 12 months of each other - alas, to the relative apathy of genre fandom. Maybe his refusal to be pigeonholed is precisely what kept him from wearing out his welcome during the years his colleagues were wringing their brands dry to ironic effect. Aside from maybe Mel Gibson, no one but Russell could hop as effortlessly from grizzled badass to relatable everyman to genuine goofball without ever feeling anything less than authentic. After all, a canny selection of roles at the outset of his adult career (seriously, find me a harder onscreen about-face than the one that goes from Used Cars to Escape From New York) meant Russell was a perfect fit for a wider variety of roles than many of his peers. That's not to imply some hand-wringing over the injustice Mr. While guys like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger created (and later lampooned) their larger-than-life screen personae, Russell avoided similar one-note characterization, and to show our gratitude we kind of let him slip away while Sly and Arnie get to enjoy their third or fourth or tenth comebacks. Is there any '80s genre actor we take more for granted than Kurt Russell? Sure, we all love him the way John Carpenter taught us to love him, but here’s a man who successfully transitioned from a career as a child actor and fresh-faced Disney protagonist to become one of the most versatile stars of his generation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |