The Role Kurt Russell Found Harder Than Any Other

Kurt Russell has been a star for a very long time, and it all started with a small moment involving Elvis Presley.

When he was only 12 years old, he had a tiny part in a movie called It Happened at the World’s Fair where he actually had to kick Elvis in the leg. Nobody knew then that just two years after the singer passed away, Kurt would be the one chosen to play him in a big TV movie.

According an old interview with The Washington Post, taking on the role of the King of Rock and Roll was a huge deal. Kurt had spent years doing Disney movies and really wanted to show people he could do more serious acting. He knew that playing someone so famous was going to be incredibly hard. He told The Washington Post that Elvis Presley is the second most recognisable unit to Coca-Cola. The only thing tougher to do is play the Coca-Cola logo.

The movie was directed by John Carpenter, and it changed Kurt’s life forever. Because they worked so well together on the Elvis biopic, Carpenter later cast him in famous action movies like Escape From New York. Kurt was smart about the pressure of becoming a huge star. He said that failure is quite easy to deal with because it’s right there, and it’s much less complex than success. He explained that success is harder because you have to deal with your own ego and the desire to keep making more money.

Kurt Russell's first film role was alongside Elvis 🤩 pic.twitter.com/X6uSud6vKj

— Late Night with Seth Meyers (@LateNightSeth) March 12, 2026

Even though other actors like Austin Butler have played Elvis recently, many fans still think Kurt did it best. He even did the voice of Elvis years later for the movie Forrest Gump. His performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination and proved he was much more than just a child star from Disney.

It’s amazing how Kurt Russell’s career came full circle by starting with a kick to Elvis and ending up as the first person to play him on screen. It takes a lot of guts to play someone that famous, especially right after they died. He stayed humble even when he became a massive star, which is probably why he is still so popular today.

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