Kurt Russell is a veteran actor known for his work in movies like The Thing, Escape from New York, Tombstone, and, several others. The actor was once asked to voice the iconic character of Solid Snake in the 1998 video game Metal Gear Solid but the actor turned it down.
In an interview, the actor revealed the real reason why he refused to join the cast of the video game and even name-dropped acclaimed director John Carpenter in the mix. Trusting the director, Russell simply stated that something didn’t smell right in Metal Gear Solid.
Kurt Russell Was The Perfect Solid Snake For Metal Gear Solid
People will be surprised to know that Metal Gear Solid was directed and written by an icon of the gaming industry, Hideo Kojima. With the players donning the role of Solid Snake, the protagonist has to infiltrate a nuclear facility, liberate the hostages, and eliminate the terrorists in the video game.
With the character of Solid Snake looking eerily similar to Kurt Russell, the actor was naturally approached for voicing the role. Due to reasons, Russell refused the opportunity and David Hayter took his place as the protagonist. In an interview (via X), Russell revealed why he did not choose to select the script.
“I’m a movie guy. I looked at it and I was like, ‘That’s not written by John Carpenter … something doesn’t smell right … I’m not gonna do that'”
John Carpenter is a veteran director and a longtime collaborator with Kurt Russell as the duo has worked on five films together. It was also Carpenter who got Kurt Russell the role of R.J. MacReady in 1982’s The Thing which was a breakthrough role for him. So naturally, Russell trusts John Carpenter and hence, refused to voice the character in Metal Gear Solid.
Kurt Russell And Quentin Tarantino: A Final Ride?
With reports indicating that notable director Quentin Tarantino is working on his final project, it could be a possibility that Kurt Russell is a part of it. After accidentally breaking an antique guitar in Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, Russell revealed to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that Tarantino is just a fun person to work with.
“I have no idea, I never know. He just calls up or someone calls up and he says hey, and you just go to work. I love working with him and he said a long time ago when we did Death Proof part of Grindhouse, he said ‘yeah I’m gonna do 10. By the time I’m 60 i’m pretty much going to be done.'”
He further continued,
“We had a long conversation about that which was really interesting so I guess he’s sticking to it. He’s since talked about that and I think his reasoning is spot on. If he wants me to carry the lead’s water, I will, I don’t care who it is. I mean he’s just a fun person to work with, quite amazing.”
Being a long-time collaborator of Tarantino as well, Russell has done three movies with the director and could be in Tarantino’s final project titled The Movie Critic. There haven’t been many details revealed about Tarantino’s alleged goodbye to Hollywood but the movie has an initial release date of 2024. Only time can tell whether Tarantino will really retire from Hollywood and whether Kurt Russell will join the director for one final ride!
