“[…] Obviously, when Quentin Tarantino calls you and asks you to work in his film, your interest immediately increases,” said the actor, speaking to The Quentin Tarantino archives near the time of the film’s release in 2007. He added:
“When he shows you that he knows everything about your career, everything you’ve done, you realize that his level of knowledge is extraordinary. And then when you hear about what he wants to do, and his level of competence and enthusiasm in doing they’re the same, you really think ‘I have to do this, I have to know what it’s like.'”
Likewise, whenever Russell stars in a project, he brings a lifetime of baggage, including his performances in cult films like “Big Trouble in Little China” and “Escape From New York.” It’s the actor’s believability—his gravitas, if you will—that Tarantino was eager to exploit with Stuntman Mike. You have to believe that the character can maintain a cool, casual charade when he’s not killing women with his car; if his attempts to charm them ring hollow or strain credibility, it deflates the sense of danger he represents. With Russell in the role, however, audiences also start to believe in his acting.
As Russell noted, there wasn’t even anything specific about his roles in those films that Tarantino wanted to draw on. Rather, he “wanted to bring into this film the aspect of some of the things I present having played Snake Plissken.” [in ‘Escape From New York’] all these years ago, and what it meant to him personally […].”
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