Deepwater Horizon star Kurt Russell on the untold human disaster

At the premiere for Deepwater Horizon in New Orleans star Kurt Russell tells of the untold human disaster. The movie opens this week.

Kurt Russell in charge

The renowned actor plays “Mr Jimmy,” Jimmy Harrell, who was the offshore installation manager of the Deepwater Horizon. He is essentially in charge of the entire crew.

Kurt became fascinated by how people react when they have to make impossible decisions under extreme pressure. “You realize that in this very dangerous world, when things go wrong, human beings can only try to make the right decisions,” says Kurt. “These are not black-and-white kinds of decisions. It’s a difficult thing to face.”

He spent hours watching Harrell’s testimony before the Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Investigation. Kurt explains, “Unfortunately, I was never able to meet Jimmy, but I saw a lot about him as a person from the testimony that I watched,”

Kurt realized that this person was deeply respected by the crew. He tells that, “he was universally respected, and a no frills kind of guy”.

Kurt Russell on Mark Wahlberg

Kurt Russell especially loved working so closely in concert with Mark Wahlberg, who becomes Mr. Jimmy’s savior after the blowout. “He’s a very natural actor who somehow makes his work look effortless. He was great, and always so prepared,” Kurt tells.

He also enjoyed his interactions with John Malkovich as BP “company man” Donald Vidrine.

“Malkovich is just terrific as Vidrine,” says Kurt. He also commented on the scenes together explaning “You a sense of what was at stake in the conflict between the company and the workers”.

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