{"id":544740,"date":"2026-03-25T17:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/544740\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:22:09","slug":"kurt-russell-recalls-kicking-elvis-presley-on-a-movie-set-as-a-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/544740\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurt Russell recalls kicking Elvis Presley on a movie set as a child"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/kurt-russell-offers-no-apologies-traditional-hunting-lifestyle\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Kurt Russell<\/a> is taking a trip down memory lane and recalling how he went from kicking Elvis Presley to becoming him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Speaking to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/real-estate\/kurt-russell-the-madison-055d25c8?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqeMQRHG-Jacwpuj0yxZba1GN_rIWhA6ulMXTxZ_ts2r4fgg_-4V85n9fjoRL7w%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69c337b9&amp;gaa_sig=Q9T3G8Mfr9yZ5ELfJWzuah76C024cnWwKwDI9uWToVpipOCQU37q79TjlQ2TPZs7SdG7nRliElSVoQIPWNsCsA%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Wall Street Journal<\/a>, Russell recalled his role in the 1963 movie, &#8220;It Happened at the World&#8217;s Fair,&#8221; where his only job was to kick Presley on-screen.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My role was to kick Elvis in the shin so a girl he liked would take pity on him,&#8221; Russell told the outlet. The star noted that the King took precautions to ensure that Russell&#8217;s kick did not injure his shin.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/russell-elvis.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Russell, Elvis Presley\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Kurt Russell kicked Elvis Presley as a child star in &#8220;It Happened at the World&#8217;s Fair.&#8221; (Getty Images\/Alamy)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Elvis put a shin pad under his pants leg, and I took a couple of practice shots\u2014until he was sure I wouldn&#8217;t miss and injure him,&#8221; Russell shared.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/kurt-russell-reveals-why-colorado-mountain-living-goldie-hawn-trumps-hollywood-glamour\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">KURT RUSSELL REVEALS WHY COLORADO MOUNTAIN LIVING WITH GOLDIE HAWN TRUMPS HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>On March 12, Russell was a guest on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">&#8220;Late Night with Seth Meyers,&#8221;<\/a> where he said Presley paid his character in the movie 50 cents to kick him in the shin to get the attention of a nurse he was interested in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-text\">&#8220;Elvis put a shin pad under his pants leg, and I took a couple of practice shots\u2014until he was sure I wouldn&#8217;t miss and injure him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> \u2014 Kurt Russell<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He had a pad on him, and everyone was a little bit worried about it,&#8221; Russell began. &#8220;And I had shoes, not sneakers. And I did it about 10 times and Elvis goes, &#8216;I think he got it. I&#8217;m not worried about that.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gettyimages-1137146767-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"It Happened At The World's Fair poster\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>A poster of the 1963 movie &#8220;It Happened At The World&#8217;s Fair.&#8221; (LMPC via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is how cool Elvis Presley was. We were back in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/los-angeles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Los Angeles<\/a> shooting, and my dad comes on the set with me, and I see Elvis looking over, really looking over. And he says, &#8216;Is that your dad? Is that your father over there?&#8217; I said, &#8216;Yeah,&#8217; and he said, &#8216;Oh, can I meet him?&#8217; And I said, &#8216;OK, sure,'&#8221; Russell said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/michelle-pfeiffer-kurt-russell-revealed-first-images-from-yellowstone-spinoff-the-madison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">MICHELLE PFEIFFER AND KURT RUSSELL REVEALED IN FIRST IMAGES FROM &#8216;YELLOWSTONE&#8217; SPINOFF &#8216;THE MADISON&#8217;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;&#8216;Dad, this is Elvis Presley. He&#8217;d like to meet you,'&#8221; Russell continued, referring to his dad, character actor Bing Russell. &#8220;He said, &#8216;Mr. Russell. I love the way you wear your hat in all the cowboy movies you do. If I ever do a cowboy movie, would it be OK if I wore my hat that way?&#8217; That&#8217;s how cool of a guy he was.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gettyimages-1242763145-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Kurt Russell elvis\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Kurt Russell as Elvis Presley in a promotional photo for the ABC-TV movie &#8220;Elvis.&#8221; (American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It Happened at the World&#8217;s Fair&#8221; launched Russell&#8217;s acting career at just 12 years old. In 1979, Russell took on his &#8220;career turning point role&#8221; in the TV movie &#8220;Elvis.&#8221; He told the WSJ that he &#8220;went from kicking him to being him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/newsletters?cmpid=fnfirstnl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Presley was 27 in &#8220;It Happened at the World&#8217;s Fair&#8221; and Russell was 27 when he played Elvis in the TV movie.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/elvis-performing.jpg\" alt=\"Elvis playing the guitar\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Elvis Presley playing a guitar. (Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>After taking on a few roles as a child star, Russell was able to successfully transition to an adult actor and land major roles in cult classics like &#8220;Escape from New York,&#8221; &#8220;The Thing&#8221; and &#8220;Big Trouble in Little China.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now, Russell is starring in Taylor Sheridan&#8217;s &#8220;The Madison&#8221; alongside <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/michelle-pfeiffer-kurt-russell-revealed-first-images-from-yellowstone-spinoff-the-madison\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Michelle Pfeiffer.<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774459329_600_michelle-pfeiffer-kurt-russell.jpg\" alt=\"Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell sitting together in tall dry grass facing each other during a quiet outdoor moment.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Michelle Pfeiffer as Stacy Clyburn and Kurt Russell as Preston Clyburn in the Paramount+ series &#8220;The Madison.&#8221; (Chris Saunders\/Paramount+)<\/p>\n<p>A press release for the series says &#8220;The Madison&#8221; is &#8220;a profound love story channeled through a deeply personal family drama about resilience and transformation.&#8221; It also mentioned that this is Taylor Sheridan&#8217;s &#8220;most intimate work to date.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The series unfolds &#8220;across two distinct worlds \u2014 the beautiful landscape of Montana and the vibrant <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/new-york-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">energy of Manhattan \u2014 as<\/a> it examines the ties that bind families together,&#8221; the release stated.<\/p>\n<p>The first season of &#8220;The Madison&#8221; consists of six episodes and premiered on Paramount+ March 14.<\/p>\n<p>Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/mailto:janelle.ash@fox.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">janelle.ash@fox.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Kurt Russell is taking a trip down memory lane and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":544741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[236,88,206,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-544740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=544740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/544740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=544740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=544740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=544740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}