Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. At 12, he began acting in theย Western TV seriesย The Travels of Jaimie McPheetersย (1963โ1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract withย The Walt Disney Company, where he starred as Dexter Riley in films such asย The Computer Wore Tennis Shoesย (1969),ย Now You See Him, Now You Don'tย (1972), andย The Strongest Man in the Worldย (1975). For his portrayal ofย rock and rollย superstarย Elvis Presleyย inย Elvisย (1979), he was nominated for theย Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. According toย Robert Osborneย ofย Turner Classic Movies, Russell became the studio's top star of the 1970s.
Russell was nominated for aย Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor โ Motion Pictureย for his performance inย Mike Nichols'sย Silkwoodย (1983). Also in the 1980s, he starred in several films directed byย John Carpenterย in which he playedย anti-heroย roles: the futuristic action filmย Escape from New Yorkย (1981), its sequelย Escape from L.A.(1996), the horror filmย The Thingย (1982), and the kung-fu comedy action filmย Big Trouble in Little Chinaย (1986).
Russell starred in various other films, includingย Used Carsย (1980),ย The Best of Timesย (1986),ย Overboardย (1987),ย Tango & Cashย (1989),ย Backdraftย (1991),ย Tombstoneย (1993),ย Stargateย (1994),ย Executive Decisionย (1996),ย Breakdownย (1997),ย Vanilla Skyย (2001),ย Miracleย (2004),ย Sky High (2005),ย Death Proofย (2007),ย The Hateful Eightย (2015) andย Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019). He also appeared in theย Fast & Furiousย franchise as Mr. Nobody (starring inย Furious 7 (2015),ย The Fate of the Furiousย (2017), andย F9ย (2021)).ย He also portrayedย Egoย in theย Marvel Cinematic Universeย (MCU) instalmentsย Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2ย (2017) andย What If...?(2021), and played the role ofย Santa Clausย inย The Christmas Chroniclesย (2018) andย The Christmas Chronicles 2ย (2020).