Kurt Russell is one of the most respected and talented actors in Hollywood. He has starred in some very big productions, working with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Quentin Tarantino, James Gunn, and Ron Howard. Despite these projects, there is one project that helped set the foundations of his career. The actor featured in John Carpenter’s 1982 film, The Thing.
The horror film has been labeled by many as one of the most significant films from the alien subgenre. Russell played the role of R. J. MacReady, an extremely memorable character who has created his own place in popular culture. His personality was uniquely his, possessing his own style and swagger, dancing through life with not a care in the world.
This was most evidently shown by one very important costume decision made by Carpenter. One that Russell was not on board with.
Kurt Russell Was Handed Bad News By The Wardrobe Department
Kurt Russell gave an interview with GQ where he took a look back at all of his most iconic roles, and of course, The Thing was one of the first films that he discussed. The actor specifically talked about the sombrero that seems to always be casually resting on his character’s head, revealing that he was not always the biggest fan of it.
“I went into wardrobe … and when I was in there, I noticed, sitting over on this chair by itself, was this enormous sombrero. And finally, at some point, I said to the wardrobe person, ‘What’s the deal with the sombrero?'”
Russell spoke of one of his first times in the wardrobe department of the film, where he was getting in costume. Here, he noticed a sombrero in the room and felt the need to ask the wardrobe person why it was there.
“And they said, ‘Oh, that’s your hat.’ I said, ‘I’m not f***ing wearing that hat! It’s insane! What are you talking about?! No!’ And they said, ‘Well, John’s already been shooting some stuff with it.’ I said, ‘What!?’ […] I never loved the sombrero.”
The actor was delivered the unfortunate news that he would have to be wearing it throughout the film, as John Carpenter believes it necessary for his character. Russell, naturally, opposed this, saying that he would not be wearing that hat under any conditions. Unfortunately, he was told that some scenes had already been filmed with the body double, so there was no way of going back.
Kurt Russell Understood The Philosophy Behind The Sombrero
While Kurt Russell was forced to wear the sombrero throughout filming, he stated that he was never a fan of despite. Despite these feelings towards the hat, he did end up understanding why John Carpenter was so adamant about it being a part of the film. The hat showed the perfect reflection of R. J. MacReady as a character and his priorities.
“Sometimes, there’s a lot of things that somebody else sees that you don’t see. You have to be open for these things. That’s a tough one because it’s just you wearing this big-ass goofy thing on your head.”
“But that’s where John had no fear. Because he knew how he was going to shoot it. I started laughing at it and saying, ‘Yeah, he’s a drunk, he doesn’t give a s***, so he’s got that sombrero on.'”
Where any normal person would be seriously concerned about what they were getting into, MacReady would go in, guns blazing, with no care in the work. While his being a drunkard did show this to a certain extent, the fact that he was wearing a sombrero hat on top of the seemed to only add emphasis to it.
