Kurt Russell highlights how his role in the upcoming series The Madison mirrors his decades-long relationship with Goldie Hawn, with whom he has been together since 1983.
A Rare, Loving Bond on Screen
In The Madison, created by Taylor Sheridan, Russell plays Preston Clyburn, the devoted late husband of Michelle Pfeiffer’s character, Stacy Clyburn. Stacy relocates from New York City to Montana after his death.
“Some of the conversations that Preston and Stacy have, I’ve had,” Russell shares. “Goldie and I have had very similar conversations. Their relationship is the kind you almost never see anymore. It’s a truly loving relationship. It’s not like there’s another shoe to drop. That’s what makes it so difficult for her character when she loses her husband.”
He adds, “She’s realizing how much more they could have had that they didn’t have because of something she didn’t do. I think a lot of people relate to that kind of regret.”
“As you get older and you’ve only got so much time left, that doubles things up in terms of looking at what you’ve done in your life so far and what you want to do with the rest of your life,” Russell notes.
Russell emphasizes the value of portraying a strong, successful partnership on screen, despite its tragic end. “It’s different in that you’re seeing a relationship that is actually a successful one. You don’t see that much anymore. It’s always dysfunction, dysfunction, dysfunction, and I thought this was very different,” he explains. “Having been in a long relationship myself with Goldie, and Michelle having been in a long relationship with her husband, David E. Kelley, a great writer, we were bringing the right experience together.”
Their Enduring Partnership
Russell and Hawn first met on the set of the 1968 film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, when he was 16 and she was 21. She initially found him too young. They reconnected 17 years later during Swing Shift in 1983 and have remained together ever since, though they never married.
They share son Wyatt Russell. Hawn serves as a devoted stepmother to Russell’s son Boston, while he is a loving stepfather to her children, Kate and Oliver Hudson.
Drawing from Personal Choices
Russell also connects with his character’s story through his own life decisions. “I moved to Colorado when I was 26 years old,” he recalls. “At a certain point, you find yourself asking whether you’re going to live the life you want to live, or if you’re just going to talk about it. And I decided to make the move and live the life I wanted to live.”
“But my business was still primarily out of Los Angeles, so my life’s been split, going back and forth. I’m glad I did what I did,” he continues. “I’ve enjoyed my life the way I’ve wanted to, and I’ve been able to continue on in the business too. I was able to make that happen. I could draw on that in The Madison.”
