Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the
western 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). 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'
Silkwood (1983). In the 1980s, he starred in several films directed by
John Carpenter, including
anti-hero roles such as army hero-turned-robber
Snake Plissken in 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). 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.
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, having starred in
Furious 7 (2015),
The Fate of the Furious (2017), and
F9 (2021),
[3][4] portrayed
Ego in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) installments
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and
What If...? (2021), and subsequently portrayed
Santa Claus in
The Christmas Chronicles (2018) and
The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020).