Why Marvel Star Wyatt Russell Turned Down A Role In One Of His Dad's Classic Films

Director Gavin O'Connor always had a schtick for spirited sports dramas, and that became evident in 2004 when he shot his very first one, "Miracle." The movie tells the true story of how coach Herb Brooks led the US men's ice hockey team to victory in the 1980 Winter Olympics against the highly feared Soviets. Kurt Russell portrayed Brooks in the film — after he initially turned the part down several times — which was shot in Canada and featured many real hockey players as actors.

It turns out that his son, Wyatt, was on the path to becoming a professional player at the time. According to a video interview (via Zoom) on The Dan Patrick Show, the father-son duo discussed the movie and how Wyatt was actually offered the role of a younger Brooks in the film that he eventually turned down. Kurt Russell explained: 

Kurt: "It was Wyatt's first year up there playing junior hockey in Canada, and they came to me and said, 'You know, the beginning of the movie is young Herb. Do you think Wyatt would do it?' I said, 'Don't even ask him. He's not here working movies. He's here trying to earn a job on these teams and move forward in hockey.'"

They did ask him, however, but his commitment to become a pro athlete was way stronger than it was to act at 18 years old. Wyatt Russell elaborated:

"My career path was hockey. So this was a very important time. [But] we did have a couple of players leave the team to be in the movie. And they wanted to come back when the movie was done and be on the team again. And it was like, 'No way, dude. You left. You left this team to join a different one... and it wasn't our team.'"

It's quite admirable, if you think about it, that Wyatt stuck to being a hockey player despite such early opportunities that came with being the son of two hugely popular actors, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn. From the early to late aughts, he played for several Canadian teams as a junior player — as well as for the Chicago Steel in the US — before he moved on to Europe, where he continued being a goalie in the German Regionalliga and then the Dutch Eredivisie. His career was cut short, however, due to multiple injuries, including hip dysplasia, serious concussions, and a severe neck injury. Unfortunately, he couldn't make his dream of playing in the NHL come true.

Thus, plan B (acting) kicked into gear around 2010, and before long, Wyatt was getting small roles in movies like the stoner comedy "High School," the sci-fi blockbuster "Cowboys and Aliens," and Judd Apatow's "This is 40." It took a few years until he landed meatier roles in quality features like "Everybody Wants Some!!," "Ingrid Goes West," or Julius Avery's bonkers World War II zombie horror movie, "Overlord." But it quickly became apparent he's got that actor pedigree, and his climb to the top of the Hollywood hierarchy continued rapidly through projects like Apple TV+'s "Monarchy: Legacy of Monsters" and Marvel's hit superhero flick, "Thunderbolts." However, it'd be remiss of me not to include his possibly best performance as Dan Lafferty in FX's heavy true crime drama "Under the Banner of Heaven," portraying an LDS fundamentalist.

One thing's certain: It won't catch anybody by surprise if Wyatt Russell keeps showing up in many more prestigious movies and TV shows in the near future.