Tragic Details About Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell's Son Wyatt Russell
As the son of Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell has lived a life of extreme privilege, but two things can be true at the same time — his lavish upbringing hasn't shielded him from experiencing tragedy and hardship. Born in 1986, Wyatt started off as an ice hockey player before transitioning into acting after an unfortunate setback forced him to switch career paths. "As a young kid, I liked it because my parents were these people who, in a subjective world, were seen as successful, and were successful in their own rights," he told The Ringer of his love for hockey. "I wanted to do something that I could be successful at in my own right." And he was. As an athlete, Wyatt excelled in the sport, playing professionally in leagues across North America and Europe. Unfortunately, his promising career was cut short by a devastating hip and groin injury when he was only 24.
As he recalled to the Times Colonist, "My whole right side, from my knee to my hip, is torn so I couldn't play anymore." Looking back, he was actually grateful it happened because, as he explained, "I wasn't going anywhere in hockey." But then came the problem of what he should do next. He decided to follow in the footsteps of his parents and sister, Kate Hudson, and try acting. But Wyatt, who's married to fellow actor Meredith Hagner, was determined to make it out on his own. "The last person I was going to ask for help was my dad," he said in a conversation with Craig Robinson for Interview magazine. Unfortunately for him, his acting career hasn't been without its hurdles.
He's received death threats over a role
Wyatt Russell's first acting role was a small part in 2011's Western action film "Cowboys & Aliens," starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. From there, he's had roles in other movies like "22 Jump Street" and shows such as "Black Mirror" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier." In the Disney+ series, he played the role of John Walker-slash-Captain America alongside Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie. Right after the show premiered, Russell spoke to USA Today about the backlash his character was bound to receive. "People are probably going to hate it, and some people are going to love it. ... Hopefully, they don't hate me too much," he said. "[But] it would be an honour, I guess, to be disliked in the Marvel universe," he added.
True enough, Russell faced intense backlash for his character, with reports even suggesting he quit social media after receiving death threats from Marvel fans. "I don't have social media," he clarified on "The Rich Eisen Show." As for the hate comments, he takes them all in stride: "I'd say like, 'It's okay, you can feel that way.' I wouldn't go too far with it." Russell claimed he had seen some of the fan reactions online and finds them all amusing. "It's flattering," he told Variety. "They just hate the guy. They just hate him!"
After all, he's no stranger to this kind of hostility. As an athlete, Russell had encountered plenty of threats and aggression from other hockey players, which helped him develop a thick skin. "It gave me a backbone," he told The Los Angeles Times in 2014. "I spent so much time trying to prove to people that that was the exact opposite of what I was trying to be," he added.