HOLLYWOOD -- In his 40 years as an actor, Kurt Russell has had his share of dark periods.
"It's not my world to assess where my career is at. It never has been. My world is to go out there each time and do my best," says Russell.
"I believe in the roles I take and then hope the movie works. Sadly, that's not always been the case.
"My greatest satisfaction is when audiences like a movie of mine for whatever reason."
Russell was 10 when Walt Disney personally signed the tyke to a 10-year contract and subsequently appeared in such Disney fare as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, The Barefoot Executive, Superdad and The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit.
Russell had hoped to follow in his father Neil Russell's footsteps and become a professional baseball player.
In the early '70s, he played minor league ball with the California Angels, but a severely torn shoulder muscle sent him back to Hollywood and the movies.
He had a few stabs at leading man status with films such as Used Cars, Escape From New York, The Thing and Silkwood, but most of his films in the 1990s were box-office disappointments.
"I've always hung in there because I love making movies and because I honestly believe those really great roles are out there somewhere."
In 1993, when he was working on Tombstone, Russell received a screenplay called Plague Season about corruption in the Los Angeles police department.
It was based on a story by James Elroy and developed as a screenplay by David Ayer who would eventually pen U-571, The Fast and the Furious and Training Day.
Plague Season became Dark Blue, which opens Friday. It is the story of Eldon Perry, a third-generation police officer who's determined to take career criminals off the streets by any means.
Ayer wrote the role of Eldon Perry for Russell and vowed to work with him until the script was to his liking.
"Eldon knows he's using some wrong methods, but he really believes what he's doing is right. That makes him a very complicated character and it was not until (director) Ron Shelton came on board the project that I believed the film could work," says Russell, who stuck with the project for eight years.
"This is the story of a man who steps into hell and then tries to come back."
Russell knows Dark Blue, and especially the character of Eldon Perry, will be compared to Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance in Training Day.
"Our movie was finished and could have been released before Training Day, but it kept being delayed.
"There are definitely similarities, but Training Day was about one corrupt cop. Dark Blue is about corruption at many levels and about crime and how it impacts on all of us.
"Even though we all made this movie for love, not money, I can honestly say this is the most satisfied I've ever been.
"I feel this is my best work."
Because of the characters he has played, film historians have dubbed Russell the symbol of American optimism.
He says Eldon Perry will help him break that mould.
"Eldon is the complete antithesis. What was always important to me was that he's not just a bad guy. He is not evil personified. He has some humanity and that was what I wanted in the screenplay and direction before I was willing to play him."
Russell's partner of almost 20 years is Goldie Hawn. Because she was sporting a new ring at this year's Golden Globes, it was rumoured the couple was finally engaged.
"Goldie and I aren't even tempted to get engaged. In essence we're very married, but neither she nor I believes in the institution of marriage.
"We've both done that and it's not something we see as a necessity. We've survived very well and remain very happy without the ceremony and the piece of paper.
"We tried to pass this knowledge onto our children and failed miserably."
Hawn's daughter, Kate Hudson, married rocker Chris Robinson and her son, Oliver Hudson, is dating actor Vanessa Shaw.
Russell says he still remembers clearly the day in 1983 he met Hawn. He had been called in to read with her for a role in Swing Shift, the drama they subsequently did together.
"I was really hung over. I was in the middle of my divorce and had been out drinking most of the night with a friend.
"I fell asleep in the office. I woke up and Goldie was standing there looking down at me.
"I looked up at her and said: 'You know, you've got a great figure.' She was really sweet about my fumbled compliment."
Russell and Hawn began their relationship during the filming of Swing Shift. They starred together in the comedy Overboard four years later.
Next month, Russell will begin filming Miracle in Prince George, B.C., playing Herb Brooks, who coached the underdog U.S. hockey team to victory in the 1980 Olympics.
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