Claim: Kurt Russell became the studio's top star.

Kurt Vogel Russell -LRB- born March 17 , 1951 -RRB- is an American actor . He began acting on television in the western series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters -LRB- 1963 -- 64 -RRB- . In the late 1960s , he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company where , according to Robert Osborne , he became the studio 's top star of the 1970s .   Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor -- Motion Picture for his performance in Silkwood -LRB- 1983 -RRB- . During the 1980s , he starred in several films by director John Carpenter , including anti-hero roles such as army hero-turned-robber Snake Plissken in the futuristic action film Escape from New York -LRB- 1981 -RRB- , and its sequel Escape from L.A. -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , Antarctic helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady in the horror film The Thing -LRB- 1982 -RRB- , and truck driver Jack Burton in the dark kung-fu comedy action film Big Trouble in Little China -LRB- 1986 -RRB- , all of which have since become cult films . He was nominated for an Emmy Award for the television film Elvis -LRB- 1979 -RRB- , also directed by Carpenter .   Russell starred in other films , including Overboard -LRB- 1987 -RRB- , Tombstone -LRB- 1993 -RRB- , Stargate -LRB- 1994 -RRB- , Death Proof -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , The Hateful Eight -LRB- 2015 -RRB- , and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol . 2 -LRB- 2017 -RRB- . He has joined The Fast and the Furious franchise since 2015 , having starred in Furious 7 and The Fate of the Furious .