Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. At 12, he began acting in the Western TV series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company, where he starred as Dexter Riley in films such as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972), and The Strongest Man in the World (1975). For his portrayal of rock and roll superstar Elvis Presley in Elvis (1979), he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, Russell became the studio's top star of the 1970s. Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance in Mike Nichols's Silkwood (1983). Also in the 1980s, he starred in several films directed by John Carpenter in which he played anti-hero roles: the futuristic action film Escape from New York (1981), its sequel Escape from L.A.(1996), the horror film The Thing (1982), and the kung-fu comedy action film Big Trouble in Little China (1986). Russell starred in various other films, including Used Cars (1980), The Best of Times (1986), Overboard (1987), Tango & Cash (1989), Backdraft (1991), Tombstone (1993), Stargate (1994), Executive Decision (1996), Breakdown (1997), Vanilla Sky (2001), Miracle (2004), Sky High (2005), Death Proof (2007), The Hateful Eight (2015) and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise as Mr. Nobody (starring in Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and F9 (2021)). He also portrayed Ego in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) instalments Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and What If...?(2021), and played the role of Santa Claus in The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020).

Filmography

• The Madison — Preston Clyburn, Executive Producer
• 2026The Rivals of Amziah King — Dob McCoy
• 2025Smurfs — Ron (voice)
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters — Lee Shaw
• 2021F9 — Mr. Nobody
• Marvel Studios Legends — Ego (archive footage) (uncredited)
• What If...? — Ego (voice), Ego / Ego's Computer / Ego's Army (voice)
• 2020The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault — (archive footage)
• 2020The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two — Santa Claus, Producer
• 2019Crypto — Martin Sr.
• 2019Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood — Randy / Narrator
• The Hateful Eight — John Ruth
• 2018The Christmas Chronicles — Santa Claus
• 2017Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — Ego
• 2017The Fate of the Furious — Mr. Nobody
• 2016Deepwater Horizon — Jimmy Harrell
• 2015Bone Tomahawk — Sheriff Franklin Hunt
• 2015Furious 7 — Mr. Nobody
• 2015The Hateful Eight — John 'The Hangman' Ruth
• 2013The Art of the Steal — Crunch Calhoun
• 2012Django Unchained — Thanks
• 2011Touchback — Coach Hand
• 2007Cutlass — Dad
• 2007Death Proof — Stuntman Mike
• 2007Grindhouse — Stuntman Mike (segment "Death Proof")
• 2006Poseidon — Robert Ramsey
• 2005Dreamer: Inspired By a True Story — Ben Crane
• 2005Jiminy Glick in Lalawood — Kurt Russell
• 2005Sky High — Steve Stronghold / The Commander
• 2004Miracle — Herb Brooks
• 2002Dark Blue — Eldon Perry
• 2002Interstate 60 — Captain Ives
• 20013000 Miles to Graceland — Michael Zane
• 2001Vanilla Sky — Curtis McCabe
• 1998Lost in Space Forever — Quano (archive footage)
• 1998Soldier — Todd 3465
• 1997Breakdown — Jeff Taylor
• E! True Hollywood Story
• 1996Escape from L.A. — Snake Plissken, Screenplay, Producer
• 1996Executive Decision — David Grant
• 1994Forrest Gump — Elvis Presley (voice) (uncredited)
• 1994Stargate — Colonel Jonathan 'Jack' O'Neil
• 1993Tombstone — Wyatt Earp
• 1992Captain Ron — Captain Ron
• 1992Unlawful Entry — Michael Carr
• 1991Backdraft — Stephen McCaffrey
• 1989Tango & Cash — Gabriel 'Gabe' Cash
• 1989Winter People — Wayland Jackson
• 1988Tequila Sunrise — Lieutenant Nick Frescia
• 1987Overboard — Dean Proffitt
• 1986Big Trouble in Little China — Jack Burton
• 1986The Best of Times — Reno Hightower
• 1985The Mean Season — Malcolm Anderson
• 1984Swing Shift — Lucky Lockhart
• 1983Silkwood — Drew Stephens
• 1982The Thing — MacReady
• 1981Escape from New York — Snake Plissken
• 1981The Fox and the Hound — Copper (voice)
• 1980Amber Waves — Larry Koenig
• 1980Used Cars — Rudy Russo
• 1979Elvis — Elvis Presley
• 1977Christmas Miracle in Caufield, U.S.A. — Johnny
• 1976Disney's Greatest Dog Stars — Copper (voice) (uncredited)
• 1976The Captive: The Longest Drive 2 — Morgan 'Two Persons' Beaudine
• 1976The Quest — Morgan 'Two Persons' Beaudine
• The Quest — Morgan Beaudine
• 1976The Quest: The Longest Drive — Morgan 'Two Persons' Beaudine
• 1975Search for the Gods — Shan Mullins
• 1975The Deadly Tower — Charles Whitman
• 1975The Strongest Man in the World — Dexter Riley
• Harry O
• The New Land — Bo Larsen
• 1973Charley and the Angel — Ray Ferris
• Police Story
• 1973Superdad — Bart
• Hec Ramsey — Matthias Kane
• 1972Now You See Him, Now You Don't — Dexter Riley
• 1971Fools' Parade — Johnny Jesus
• 1971The Barefoot Executive — Steven Post
• 1970Dad... Can I Borrow the Car? — Narrator
• 1969Guns in the Heather — Rich Evans
• Hawaii Five-O — Peter Valchek
• Love, American Style — Johnny
• Room 222
• 1969The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes — Dexter Riley
• Then Came Bronson — William P. Lovering
• 1968The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit — Ronnie Gardner
• 1968The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band — Sidney Bower
• 1967Mosby's Marauders — Pvt. Willie Prentiss
• The High Chaparral — Dan Rondo
• 1966Follow Me, Boys! — Whitey
• The Road West — Jay Baker
• Laredo
• Lost in Space — Quano
• The F.B.I. — Dan Winslow
• The Legend of Jesse James — Elick Harte
• Daniel Boone — William Craig, Mathew, Jed, Paul Bickford, Nathan Jarrett
• Gilligan's Island — Jungle Boy
• 1964Guns of Diablo — Jamie McPheeters
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Christopher Larson
• 1963It Happened at the World's Fair — Child who kicks Mike at the fair (uncredited)
• The Fugitive — Philip Gerard Jr., Eddie
• The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters — Jamie McPheeters
• Our Man Higgins — Bobby
• Sam Benedict
• The Virginian — Toby Shea, Andy Denning
• Gunsmoke — Packy, Buck Henry Woolfe

Appearances as themselves (40)

• 2026Marty, Life Is Short — Self (archive footage)
• 2026The Thing Expanded — Self
• 2025Long Lonesome Highway: The Story of Michael Parks — Self
• 2023Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 — Self - 'Ego' (archive footage)
• 2021Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age — Self - Actor (archive footage)
• 2021Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend — Self (archive footage)
• 2021Val — Self (archive)
• 2020A Love Letter To Making Movies — Self
• 2020AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star — Self
• 2020Adventure Thru the Walt Disney Archives — Self
• 2020You Cannot Kill David Arquette — Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2019QT8: The First Eight — Self
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self - Guest
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self - Guest
• 2014The Battered Bastards of Baseball — Himself
• The Jonathan Ross Show — Self - Guest
• Conan — Self - Guest
• 2008The Age of Believing: The Disney Live Action Classics — Self
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• Made in Hollywood — Self
• 2004John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• 2003Return to 'Escape from New York' — Himself
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Self
• 2002The Making of 'Tombstone' — Self
• 2001America | A Tribute to Heroes — Self
• The Johannes B. Kerner Show — Self
• 1998The Thing: Terror Takes Shape — Self
• The View — Self
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self - Guest
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien — Self - Guest
• Late Show with David Letterman — Self - Guest
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno — Self
• 1991Voices That Care — Self - Choir Member
• Late Night with David Letterman — Self - Guest
• 1982The Making of 'The Thing' — Self
• 1979Bringing A Legend To Life — Himself
• 1970Disneyland Showtime — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• The Oscars — Self