Kurt Russell Explains How James Gunn Pitched Ego The Living Planet Role For Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

If you thought James Gunn approached Kurt Russell and simply said, ‘Hey, man, I want you to play a […]

September 5, 2017, 6:08pm

If you thought James Gunn approached Kurt Russell and simply said, “Hey, man, I want you to play a live planet in my next movie,” and the iconic actor jumped into the role for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2… Well… You’re almost right!

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Russell, an actor who has played huge roles throughout his impressive career, has never taken on anything to the scale of one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful entities. The idea of playing a literal living planet quickly enticed the actor after he was approached by Gunn, though.

During a press event for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 over the weekend, Russell explained to ComicBook.com how Gunn approached him for the part and why he was so interested in it. The biggest selling point from Gunn came from “showing me the first movie,” Russell said.

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Then came the script for the sequel.

“Realizing that a lot of Peter Quill’s behavior, it makes sense when you think about some of the things that I did,” Russell said. “He didn’t have to pitch that. He let me read it and I go, ‘Well, I got it, I understand.’ I really love the opportunity to play Ego the Living Planet. There’s no parameters there.”

Russell also sees the positive effect his role might have on people outside of the movie, as well, given the relationship between Peter and his father is something many people deal with in the real world.

“I supposed part of it was because I’ve seen in my life children whose father wasn’t there,” Russell said. “Parents who something horrible happened and they wondered what they were like. And in both cases, as human beings do, they built up an imaginary person in their mind. The idea of finally getting a chance to come together, gives you the reality to deal with.”

As for the scenes which will see Ego in planet form, Russell performed a bit of motion capture and had several facial scans to nail the computerized look. “They put you in the machine and, you know…” Russell said. “With Ego, it’s whatever James wanted to do with him. Some of them were my suggestions and I’m glad that they were able to do some of them.”