“The Madison” star Kurt Russell is opening up about how he resonated with Taylor Sheridan’s scripts for the show on a personal level as he drew parallels to his real-life love with Goldie Hawn.
In the new Paramount+ series, the 75-year-old actor plays Preston Clyburn, whose tragic death in the first episode serves as the emotional catalyst of the series as his family struggles to cope with his sudden loss.
In particular, Preston’s death leaves his longtime wife Stacy Clyburn (Michelle Pfeiffer) grappling with grief and the realization that she hadn’t fully grasped the depth of their connection while he was alive.
During a recent interview with The National, Russell, who has been in a committed relationship with Hawn, 80, for over 40 years, admitted that he became emotional while reading about his character’s love story with Stacy as he felt it mirrored his own.
“I had a hard time getting through the scripts,” Russell said. “They just kept hitting me really hard, and I felt that that was a big part of this show’s potential, ability to grab an audience. Its writing was so authentic.”
He continued, “It was so powerful for it to have a serious, true love relationship with someone, and then for one of those people to go, and for the other to realize they didn’t know how good it was – that they didn’t know there was so much more to it, and they’re not going to let that go.”
Russell and Hawn first met in 1966 when they co-starred in the comedy musical western, “The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band.”
At the time, Hawn was 21 and Russell was 16. In 2012, the “Death Becomes Her” star told BBC Radio 4 that she thought Russell was “adorable, but much too young.”
However, the pair’s relationship eventually turned romantic when they co-starred in the 1983 film “Swing Shift,” which saw their sparkling chemistry on full display. They memorably teamed up a few years later in the beloved 1987 romantic comedy “Overboard.”
Russell previously noted the similarities between his character’s marriage and his own relationship while speaking with Men’s Health last month.
“Some of the conversations that [Preston and Stacy] have, I’ve had,” he told the outlet. “Goldie and I have had very similar conversations. Their relationship, it’s the kind of relationship you almost never see anymore.”
“It’s a truly loving relationship,” Russell continued. “It’s not like there’s another shoe to drop. That’s what makes it so difficult for [Michelle’s] character when she loses her husband. She’s realizing how much more they could have had that they didn’t have because of something she didn’t do.”
“I think a lot of people relate to that kind of regret,” he added. “As you get older, and you’ve only got so much time left, that doubles things up in terms of looking at what you’ve done in your life so far and what you want to do with the rest of your life.”
In “The Madison,” Stacy and her family leave Manhattan behind after Preston’s death and move to the rural Madison River Valley region of Montana, the place that he loved the most and where he lost his life.
Stacy, who had never visited Preston’s Montana cabin while he was alive, discovers that there was a side of him that she never knew and regrets she didn’t experience when she had the chance.
While speaking with The National, Russell said he appreciated how Sheridan balanced the show’s heavy themes with humor, especially in the face of loss.
“What I like about what Taylor does is he makes it humorous, as well as a lot of gallows humor always, always around it,” Russell said. “The cog that was in the middle of it all is gone, and you can only deal with it. You can’t get it back.”
“The Madison” went on to become Sheridan’s biggest-ever series launch after the premiere episode reached 8 million global streaming views in the first 10 days after its debut on March 14. The final three episodes of the first season were released on March 21, and the show was renewed for a second season days later.
Filming for the second season has already been completed, though the release date has yet to be announced.
Despite his character’s death in the premiere, Russell appeared in every episode of “The Madison’s” first season through flashbacks.. While speaking with The National, Russell shared that the second season will delve further into Preston and Stacy’s relationship.
“In many, many ways, it’s better,” he said. “You see them together a lot.”
