When Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin began casting their sci-fi adventure movie “Stargate,” their wish list for the role of Colonel Jonathan J. “Jack” O’Neil consisted of one name: Kurt Russell. There was no back-up option, and there was a very good reason for this. Jack is a no-nonsense military man who basically plays the straight man to James Spader’s loosey-goosey Dr. Daniel Jackson. He is a charisma vacuum. So, rather than cast a hardass type in the mold of Lee Marvin (who was quite dead at the time), Emmerich and Devlin opted to cast a film star every right thinking person in the world loves.
Though “Stargate” is little more than a serviceable B-movie with impressive production values, O’Neil’s grudging allyship with Jackson gives the movie some much needed zip. A touch of on-set tension aside, Russell and Spader are great actors who instinctively know how to play their respective types. A 2016 GQ profile of the former further revealed that Russell had rebuffed Emmerich and Devlin until they paid him twice his market value. He couldn’t say no to that offer, but he was still baffled by their insistence on casting him. As the star recalled:
“They said, ‘Oh, well, we ran a questionnaire around the world’. They wanted to rate actors on their unlikability. They wanted to find someone who was likable because the part, as written, was not. And they said, ‘You know the only star out there who has zero unlikability?’ ‘Kurt Russell.’ Zero unlikability!” [Laughs] Now, that was a long time ago. That number may have changed significantly.”
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Kurt Russell has ‘zero unlikability’
Kurt Russell as Jack O’Neil wearing his military uniform in Stargate – MGM
The author of the GQ piece asserted that Russell’s “Stargate” performance allowed the actor to stretch a bit and change people’s perception of his image. Aside from sporting a tight military haircut, though, I don’t think there’s a great deal of distance from his portrayal of the laconic Snake Plissken in “Escape from New York” or the relatively humorless MacReady in “The Thing.” He’d also played a gruff authority figure in “Backdraft.” So, the performance itself wasn’t a surprise if you’re a Russell fan.
I also sincerely doubt his “unlikability” has changed since then, even after such hideous misfires as “Soldier,” “3,000 Miles to Graceland,” and “Crypto.” As Russell mused on his beloved persona, he came to accept it as a fact. “Inherent likability, or inherent dislikability,” he told GQ, “is something I think we all carry with us.” But the relatively humble star was quick to undercut this observation, adding, “Now, when you talk about yourself in those terms, I find that unlikable. ‘Stop! You idiot! There’s millions of people who can’t stand the f***ing sight of you!’ And that may be true.”
I’m gonna have to disagree with your police work there as well, sir. I’ve yet to run across a person whose face doesn’t light up whenever I mention one of the many great, re-watchable Kurt Russell movies that already exist. You’re the king of the dad movie, sir. Embrace it. Enjoy it. And please keep making movies.
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