Kurt Russell's New Role Reminds Him of the Old Days in Hollywood

You will soon be able to see Kurt Russell play a small, but memorable role in Quentin Tarantino‘s new film, Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood — a movie that allowed the actor to really think about the old days in the industry.

“It reminded me of me and my dad and my friends in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I grew up in that world,” the 68-year-old told Cigar Aficionado in a new cover story. In the film, the action star plays a stunt coordinator with costars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt.

“I worked with so many stunt coordinators when I was a kid that I had dealer’s choice about who to base him on,” the Escape From L.A. star said of his role, adding his performance is “a real conglomerate.”

While his latest role isn’t a big one, Goldie Hawn‘s man was all about it as long as he got to work with the legendary Pulp Fiction director, 56. “For me it was a quick-hit kind of deal, three days all together,” Kurt —who was only 12 when he landed his first big-screen role alongside Elvis Presley — told the outlet.

While speaking with the magazine, the Kurt did reveal that he was once considered for the roles of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in the original Star Wars, as well as the lead in Bull Durham — jobs that he did not land. However, Kurt has said in the past that there are films he has turned down in order to stay home with his family.

“”There was a movie I was going to be paid a lot of money for,” Kurt told Daily Mail. “I’d rather not say what it was, but it came when I’d just done two pictures in a row and Goldie was about to go to work, so I had to turn it down.” He continued, mentioning he understood how rough it would be if both he and the Death Becomes Her actress, 73, dove head first into their careers.

“[We] were very aware of what would happen had we both pursued our careers full-on,” Kurt said. “I very rarely worked when I knew Goldie was going to be working. And vice-versa. Which meant we could be together. I never thought that what the business could provide would ever take precedence over us. Money is great, but you’ve got to say no. You really do.”

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is out July 26, 2019.

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