Kurt Russell doesn’t fit the Hollywood stereotype, and he’s good with that, saying actors would do well to stay clear of voicing strong political opinions. That stance is consistent for the performer who is not immersed in the Hollywood scene.
The 69-year-old star of “Overboard,” “Tombstone,” “The Hateful Eight,” “Silkwood” and “Elvis,” among dozens and dozens of other hit films, told the New York Times that performers should see themselves as “court jesters.”
“As far as I’m concerned, you should step away from saying anything so that you can still be seen by the audience in any character,” he said, adding that when actors speak out, “they lose their status as a court jester. And I’m a court jester. That’s what I was born to do.”
During the interview, Goldie Hawn—Russell’s longtime partner and co-star of their Netflix film “Christmas Chronicles 2″—took a good-natured poke at the “jester” remark, saying Russell isn’t “always funny.”
Russell explained that court jesters aren’t always funny, and that they play an important role. Someone, he said, who can “walk into the castle and put the king down as long as he doesn’t hit too close to home. I think that’s been a big, important part of all cultures throughout history, and I’d like to see it stay in ours.”
Russell has said he’s a Libertarian and, in a 2017 interview with the Daily Beas, he “found a lot of liberals in Hollywood are faux-liberals, and a lot of Republicans in Hollywood are faux-conservatives.”
He’s done his research on the Founding Fathers. “They were pretty radical guys, and damn smart, and I just believe in that old-time stuff and think they had great ideas. … I believe in limited constitutional government, free market capitalism, reach for the brass ring.”
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