The image and career of Elvis Presley sometimes feel removed now from all else, but Kurt Russell played a big part in it when he was very small. Aside from being the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis was also a big movie star. The early days of his film career coincided with the early days of Russell’s career as well.
Today, Russell is known for titles like Overboard, Tango & Cash, and Stargate. His filmography continues to grow to this day, but where did it all begin? With a role that called for him to kick Elvis Presley over and over again. This special moment endures both in Russell’s memory and in the latest biopic Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann. Here’s what happened.
Kurt Russell began his film career alongside Elvis Presley
Don’t look for Russell’s name in the credits because it was an uncredited role, but he landed his film debut with 1963’s It Happened at the World’s Fair. At the time, Russell was just 12 years old and Elvis was around 27. Elvis was a crop-duster pilot named Mike, who was smitten with nurse Diane Warren, played by Joan O’Brien. Mike wanted an excuse to see the nurse, so he paid a kid a quarter to kick him; that kid was played by Russell.
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Getting just the right shot made them go through around 15 takes, which itself called for Elvis to wear some discrete padding. “One time I got close to the edge of it and he looked at me, because he really trusted me, and went ‘…stay on the pad,” Russell recalled. “What a nice guy he was. Yeah. He was 27 years old. He was really cool. An incredibly nice guy.”
That moment still has relevance today
For a young Kurt Russell, this gig not only launched his film career but also saw him hang out with Elvis when they weren’t shooting; the two would play catch and talk about baseball together. It’s a special, unexpected moment that had its time in the spotlight again far more recently with Luhrmann’s biopic starring Austin Butler.
“Sometimes I lose track, but I think you’ll see him in the Hollywood montage,” Luhrmann said of a young Russell. Indeed, the film features a ’60s Elvis movie montage that uses footage from when Russell kicked Elvis, just one of many fleeting but memorable moments from both their careers. Russell’s career, about 16 years later, would involve being the first to portray Elvis on the big screen with the 1979 television movie, Elvis. What a career!