Television

Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt are both starring in Apple TV's show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Kurt, 72, plays the character of Lee Shaw, while 37-year-old Wyatt plays Lee Shaw. That's right: father and son play the same character across years. It's a unique approach that has the duo taking a new approach to acting and it's one that his mother, Goldie Hawn, has very strong feelings about. There are some logistical elements to keep track of when playing the same character across generations. It has forced Russell to look at Wyatt not as one person looks at another, or even as a father looks at his son. Rather, he had to study his every subtle mannerism so he truly could be Shaw years later. It's all new territory for them, whether it's the parent-child acting pair learning one another, to Hawn who finds herself watching something far outside her usual wheelhouse. Goldie Hawn has an unexpected reaction to Kurt and Wyatt Russell in 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' Although its not a romcom, Goldie Hawn loves the new monster mash starring her husband and son / Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premiered on Apple TV+ on November 17. It was met with generally positive reviews and is set in the extended world of Legendary's MonsterVerse franchise. In celebration of the occasion, Kurt and Wyatt have been promoting the show and discussing their experiences with filming the thrilling program. RELATED: Kurt Russell And Son Wyatt Set To Star In New ‘MonsterVerse’ Series Together Speaking with CBS Mornings, the pair shared how their loved ones have reacted to the action-packed monster mash. For Goldie, 78, Monarch is not her usual stomping ground; she is, after all, one of the queens of the romcom scene. But no, they assure, “She loved it.” Wyatt continued, “I didn’t expect her to, maybe, like it because it’s a monster movie and it wasn’t, you know, like, it doesn’t necessarily play to her demo.” But Hawn along with Wyatt's wife, actress Meredith Hagner love it. Kurt and Wyatt fight the good fight Kurt Russell as an older version of the character played by Wyatt / ©Apple TV+ /Courtesy Everett Collection "We were being given this opportunity to play the same person, as opposed to the father and son, so we started hammering away at it and saying, 'Let's make this good,'" Kurt told Entertainment Tonight, speaking alongside Wyatt. It's a meaningful gig not just because of their colleagues but because of the legacy this fictional beast cemented. "I think I was probably, I don't know, maybe 8 years old or something when I first saw Godzilla, and that was an image I never forgot," mused Kurt. "What I love about sci-fi is great sci-fi there's an opportunity to examine some questions - huge questions. Where are we from? What's it all about? What's going on here?" MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS, Wyatt Russell, 'Aftermath', (Season 1, ep. 101, aired Nov. 17, 2023). photo: Diyah Pera /©Apple TV+ /Courtesy Everett Collection But above all, "For me, it was a wonderful opportunity to get to work with Wyatt." It's been a tricky experience, as Kurt "suddenly realized, I've watched him all my life, but I've never examined him." Yet Wyatt essentially created the character of Shaw and now he, Kurt, had to play off of what his son established. For Wyatt, it was also a chance to try something different. He considers playing father and son as "low-hanging fruit," but this flipped that concept on its head while still playing on their shared history.