This Day in Horror History: Happy Birthday Kurt Russell

For genre fans of a certain age, Kurt Russel became a horror heavyweight following appearances in a string of John Carpenter movies in the 1980s: Escape from New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China. His filmography is extensive, and horror appears to be a tentpole of the actor’s resume. He’s also appeared in Escape from LA, Vanilla Sky, Poseidon, Death Proof, Bone Tomahawk, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Russell is one of those rare actors who can successfully lead both horror and mainstream movies alike.

Trivia:
Russell is an FAA licensed Private Pilot holding single/multi-engine and instrument ratings and is an Honorary Board Member of the humanitarian aviation organization Wings of Hope. (Source)

In his audio commentary for The Thing (1982), he joked with director John Carpenter about the scene where he threw a stick of dynamite at the character Palmer (who was turning into the Thing) and how the explosion was more powerful than he had expected. In truth, he could have been seriously injured. (Source)

Kurt Russell was born on this date in 1951 and, today, all of us at Dread Central wish him a very Happy Birthday!

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