Legendary actor Kurt Russell recently opened up about an action film he starred in the early 90s called Tombstone, hailing it as a staple of the Western genre.
In a recent interview with GQ, Russell reflected on many of his most iconic roles and talked in length about Tombstone, praising the dialogue and acting in the film and claiming they are what made it so memorable. He also cited the longstanding fan response to the film, which often hails it as a pinnacle of the genre, stating that he is glad it has become so beloved. “Now it’s being considered one of the greatest Westerns ever made, so I’m happy about that,” Russell said. “I can’t say that, but I like hearing that. And more and more people are saying that now.”
Tombstone is a 1993 Western film depicting the life of famous lawman and gunslinger Wyatt Earp, who Russell plays in the film, after his life is uprooted by an outlaw gang that appears in the town of Tombstone, Arizona. The film is loosely based on real-life events from American history and stars Russell alongside Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton, alongside various others and opened to a strong box office performance, raking in over $56 million despite its underwhelming critical reception, as the film only retains a 73% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Tombstone Remains Wildly Celebrated as a Cult Classic
The film is largely hailed today as a cult classic and a monumental film in Russell’s career due in large part to the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star’s influence on its production and his acting. Talking to GQ, Russell said he influenced how the story and many of its action scenes played out and claimed that working with Kilmer made the film an easy success for the actor as he greatly enjoyed his time with him on set.
Tombstone is adapted from a script by Kevin Jarre, who had previously won a Golden Globe for his work on the Civil War historical drama Glory, but also wrote the critically-panned Rambo: First Blood Part II, making the writer’s career up that point very divisive. Tombstone eventually became Jarre’s final film and fortunately, many consider it his absolute best, including Russell and his co-stars, despite the fact that it never took home any official awards or accolades.