Peoplekepttelling meI’dbeperfect forGuardiansof theGalaxy..soI hadtotakea leapoffaith
lives on the planet he’s created. I liked the fact James focused on the one thing that was relatable, the relationship between father and son – rather than the imaginary person Chris’s character had created in his head, he was going to have to deal with the real person.
“I thought that was a situation a lot of kids have been in,” added Russell, who has two sons – Boston, from his marriage to actress Season Hubley, and Wyatt from his long-term relationship with Goldie Hawn, whose other kids, Oliver and Kate Hudson, also consider him their dad.
His own family life meant he had plenty to draw on for the role. Plus, he said: “This is sci-fi, so you can ask any of the questions you want, right?
“What was fun about this one was it was two-fold, in that you could relate to it as a parent, because you’re the authority. By nature, you’re the one that’s going to teach and show, and that’s going to be questioned.
“But if you’re also a god, then God moves in mysterious ways, so that’s not to be questioned. That’s the centrepiece of what Peter Quill has to deal with.”
His only quibble is that it’s a sequel. Bar a few exceptions – including Escape From LA – he’s usually resistant about follow-ups, admitting he wonders if “it’s going to be something we could make as good as, or better than this one everybody loved so much”.
Russell added: “You don’t want to be the one that comes in and is responsible for the, ‘Urgh, they should have never done another one.’”
Meeting the morning after the film’s premiere, Russell is the epitome of Hollywood chic – dressed in black, with the obligatory great hair, great tan and great teeth.
But his 55 years in showbiz and his macho-guy tag don’t appear to have tainted his nature.
The son of actor Bing Russell and dancer Louise Crone, Russell landed a role in Elvis Presley’s It Happened at the World’s Fair at just 11.
However, it wasn’t until he signed a 10-year contract with The Walt Disney Company in the late 60s that he made his mark as one of the studio’s – and Tinseltown’s – biggest heart-throbs.
Now, his CV spans way beyond Disney, with credits including cult classics The Thing, Big Trouble in Little China, plus, more recently, Death Proof and The Hateful Eight, and Fast & Furious 7 and 8.
But can the action-star guise last forever? He is a grandad, after all.
“I’ve always enjoyed it,” he said of his stunt work. “I was a ball player, so I was a good athlete and I liked using that.
“I’m a big believer in the fact you assume the physicality of the person you’re playing.
“As long as I could try to work things out with the stuntman to do things safely, I always felt more comfortable doing it.
“I did really good until I was about 48 or 49 and then things started to break.
“So I started slowing down in my mid-50s.”
He says he’s blessed to be in a place where he can pick and choose his next move. But it’s not all about acting.
Russell, who launched GoGi Wines in 2007 in California, said: “I do want to get back in the vineyard. I really like making wine, I’m serious about it, so it’s something I look forward to doing.” There’s also a “project” on the go he says “Oliver and Wyatt brought to Kate”.
He revealed: “There’s a part they thought I would be right for, and it just so happened that Mel Gibson was looking in the same arena, so we’ve decided to get together.
“We’re hoping we can put this long-form TV thing together for this year or next year.” ●Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out now.
You don’t want to come in and people say, ‘They should never have done it’ KURT RUSSELL