Kurt & Wyatt Russell And Conan Are All History Buffs | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend
it's interesting cuz I a couple of years. ago I love Tarantino's movies and I know. that you've been uh in a couple and um. you did once upon a time in LA yeah and. um playing this stunt coordinator and. what's interesting is I read this. interview with Tarantino where he said. Kurt's one of the only guys I can talk. to who because he he's making a movie. about La in. 6869 Kurt knew all these people you. experienced that world and he said you.
informed so much of like he picked your. brain about what was La like back then. because you started out doing you know. Disney films early on yeah and tele did. a lot of Television early yeah just. working you know working actors my my. brother Neo as a TV head and I swear to. God I wake up this morning he's like ask. him about being un Lost in. Space and I'm like. no you should because it's a good one. for your world my character's name was. guano yeah you know what but they.
finally figured out after the show like. you know what guano means yeah bad. to play Michael onar as kid I that. was it was one of the first experiences. I ever had where I was kind of like I. know what I want to do here and I. because he Michael lar was bald yeah and. we were you know was lost in space. you're not on Earth you're somewhere out. there and uh I went oh great I I know. what I want to do and I I don't know how. I don't remember how I convinced it I. said I want to I want to be bald too. right so I got to be I got to play a. character that was you know looked I.
looked like that we were clearly not. from pea you know from a different. planet but but bigpaw bigpaw knew all. those wasn't a lot of that based on your. dad had worked uh in early what in in. film but had he done television as well. no my dad my dad you know worked for a. long time he put you know shoes on his. kids feet and food on the table by being. an actor and he did everything it worked. for a long time um but he was what you. know we kind of looked at each other as. plumber actors you know I mean there. like take your work pale and go to work.
you know but with with quen we talked a. lot about stuff he he's very he loves he. loves the history of Hollywood and he he. probably knows it as well as anybody and. so he does it's more than picking your. brain it's for you're going to go out. and have a good time and and he used a. lot of uh uh the conversation I think. the things that he has learned over the. years from many different people and it. was it was very nice that he made a a. dedication in in the book that he wrote. um about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. and he did have me come over to his. house to read it and it was really.
interesting because I think he wanted me. to read it in the lair you know and it. was right in the heart he loves living. where he lives in the heart of Hollywood. as it were and uh you know it was a. great feeling and I I must say I said to. him I said I don't know if there's. anybody alive who can appreciate this as. much as me because it was my it was like. your my life you know it was like. completely I I understand everything. about it you know I have a fascination. with that era so there's a clip you can. see online I guess someone in like 1966. just drove along some at Boulevard now.
today everyone has a. phone but back then it was very rare for. people to you know have a a color film. camera and someone just shot out their. windshield driving along the Sunset. Strip in 1966 and I'm and and it's a. different world and I've looked at that. thing so many times I love time travel. and that's just an amazing you look at. that LA and we don't live in that La. anymore it's it's gone but it's so. strange and so different.
I I love watch I love watching those. videos it is a sense of nostalgia that. you're like oh wow and living back in. that time I'm sure you go back in that. time and you're like this is a. nightmare get me back into. 2023 but I love I yeah I I know those. ones where you kind of like they put it. on the hood of a car and they just kind. of drift through Los Ang yeah they drive. through LA and you see what the cars. look like how the people dressed what. it's strange it is strange to me to live. long enough to see that there really is. a difference as time goes by because it. always kind of feels the same to me you. know.
but you're why I was telling me G this. is cool because we have something fun. for you but you're a you're a pretty. serious history buff yes you like love I. love reading history yeah I got to got. he. said be totally false no I don't think. it is though I don't think it is no I. think this one's pretty bar so um uh. there was a time where I wasn't working. very much and um I subscribed to. ancestry.com um like like a 75y old. grandmother yeah uh and so I got. obsessed with uh like following the.
history of our family it was like oh you. know our history of family is cool and. so you go back a couple Generations. keeps going back and it gives you these. like heat Leaf hints right yeah this is. also I'm getting paid by ancestry.com. right. now and I enjoy driving a. Porsche never. works um and and so it just kept going. back and kept going back and it was like. to the gaken backs and all these. different people that we were and then. it and then it always shows uh war.
records right like that it traces your. family history through war. records turn went goes all the way back. to the Revolutionary War and everybody. in our family for whatever reason has. fought in a war this is the Russell side. the Russell side of the family uh and. and um we get to 10 Generations back. from me his name is Jason Russell. Jr on the first day of the Revolutionary. War.
uh shot her around the world at lexingon. conquered y when the Minutemen retreated. there was a house and they took refuge. in the house they sheltered in in the. house the red Coates surrounded the. house went in shot everybody in the. house baded the owner of the house 11. times and it turns out that the owner of. that house was Jason Russell Jr who is. our direct lineage great-grandfather. insane on that day it was the bloodiest.
day of fighting on the first day of. retion house if only it had a ring. camera ding. dong hello you want to come in nobody. here well well the joke is I was the. joke is is like that you know the it's. this patriotic story and he got banded. at his door and the story is he came. back his family sent his family away and. he came back and you know the Red Coats. came in and they stabbed him and I was. like well how do you know wasn't going. to the door and being like they're in.
here they in there no not me I love the. king yeah. exactly uh Lisa kudro has a lineage show. and she approached me a number of years. ago and she said uh you I we want to we. find prominent people and we do their. lineage and uh she and I have been. friends for a long time and then she. said would you take a swab and we'll. find your lineage and I said I promise. you you're not going to find anything. and he said Conan everyone says that but.
we we always find no you're related to. you know Winston church or you're. related to it's so cool you're going to. see and I said you'll see didn't hear. from her for 6 months and then I call. her and I go Lisa I never heard back. from you when she went there's. [Laughter]. nothing.
