It’s hard to imagine Kurt Russell being anywhere near stressed when it comes to casting a film. However, even the actor behind Snake Plissken, directed by legendary director Quentin Tarantino, is left sweating. In a 2007 interview with IGN, the star of films like The Thing, Escape from New York and Tombstone (just one of the best Westerns of all time) explained this when it came to getting his gig “Death Proof,” he was already aware of the potential competition he was up against thanks to a call from Freddy Rodriguez.

Russell recalled the “Planet Terror” star saying to him, “‘I think Quentin will come to you with this movie.’ He said: “I think it should be Mickey Rourke, but I don’t think that’s happening. And there are other people they’re talking about. I know that Ving Rhames was someone who was put under a lot of pressure.” But I don’t know if Quentin ever really thought about it or not.

From there, a game of what Russell called “phone day” began. This led to Tarantino providing the perfect reason for the actor to get behind the wheel of Death Proof, the high-octane story of a murderous stuntman who makes a U-turn when a group of his would-be victims come after him. It may be at the bottom of the list of most Tarantino films, but “Death Proof” is still a real eye-catcher.

After some back and forth and ironing out details, Russell remembered why the director of Pulp Fiction, one of the greatest films of all time, wanted him in his next project:

“So I called him. We met and he said, ‘You’ve built up a rogues gallery of great characters over the years that I just loved, and I’d really like to see Stuntman Mike become one of them.’ These guys, one of those characters that you hang on the wall when you’re done.'”

Tarantino eventually convinced Russell to put on the cool black sunglasses and become a serial killer stunt driver. “I said I would like to do it. When I read it, I thought it was exactly the kind of film I would like to work on with Quentin, and in the environment he was talking about, there was just no reason not to do it. “Just jump up and say, ‘Let’s do this and have fun,'” Russell added.

The fun was definitely there. The film marked the first collaboration between Russell and the revered director, who would eventually reunite eight years later for The Hateful Eight. Russell also played a significant role in Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, serving as the film’s narrator and even appearing in person at one point. As Tarantino put it in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly: “Kurt is absolutely the youngest man I can work with who has actually lived that life.” Well, they sure don’t make them like they used to.