Why Kurt Russell's Beard In Christmas Chronicles Had To Be Handled Carefully
Is there an issue more contentious in Hollywood than facial hair? Frankly, yes. But it's still fun to talk about. Throughout the history of the industry, stars' choice of facial adornment have caused no end of issues for studio executives. Such was the case with Gregory Peck and 1950's "The Gunfighter," in which he donned a majestic mustache that then-20th Century Fox head Darryl F. Zanuck claimed he would have paid $25K to shave. Sadly, however, Zanuck was out of the country when the film shot, and only discovered the offending stache upon his return. According to the exec, it was this precise element that was to blame for the film failing to meet box office expectations.
This is but one facial hair-related debacle in the annals of Hollywood lore. What about when some sort of facial fuzz is actually required for a role? Well, in the '90s, "Tombstone" star Kurt Russell caused a bit of a headache for director George P. Cosmatos. Russell intended to sport a mustache so over-the-top that Cosmatos was required to talk him down from such conspicuous hirsuteness and point him towards a more period-accurate version.
This wouldn't be the last time Russell's facial hair caused concern among cast and crew, either — although this next example has more to do with maintaining a facial mane rather than trying to tone things down. I write, of course, about the 2018 Christmas comedy "The Christmas Chronicles," in which Russell starred as Santa Claus himself. Unfortunately, old St. Nick's beard proved to be more trouble than the crew were initially prepared for.
Kurt Russell's delicate Santa beard
Released in 2018 by Netflix, "The Christmas Chronicles" sees two children, Teddy and Kate Pierce (played by Judah Lewis and Darby Camp, respectively), join Santa on Christmas Eve for what should have been a magical night of gift-giving. Unfortunately, the kids cause Father Christmas' sleigh to crash, and the movie follows the trio's attempts to save Christmas before morning arrives. It's a charming little movie that, according to Netflix, was watched by 20 million viewers in one week, ensuring a sequel was quickly greenlit. That sequel, imaginatively titled "The Christmas Chronicles 2," arrived in 2020, and wasn't quite as successful as the first. Still, Russell was hardly the problem, especially in terms of commitment to his role.
Now, you didn't think Kurt Russell, the man who gave us that majestic "Tombstone" stache, was going to play St. Nick without growing the best Santa beard possible, did you? The "Escape From New York" star did try to grow his own impressive facial mane for the part, but it seems that wasn't quite enough for the production team, who, according to Entertainment Weekly, ended up adding several sections to the beard.
"The Christmas Chronicles 2" director Chris Columbus spoke to the outlet about the whole affair, stating that Russell "grew 80% of that beard" himself before adding, "The only thing that were added were pieces by his makeup team. With intense physical activity on camera, those pieces start to break off. So we had to be careful about that." What kind of intense physical activity could Santa possibly engage in? Well, how about a full song and dance number?
Santa was one of Russell's most physically challenging roles
The film required its star to perform a significant amount of physical activity — especially when it came to "The Spirit of Christmas," the big musical number of "The Christmas Chronicles 2." This was one of the movie's biggest set-pieces, with Santa leading a song and dance performance in the middle of an airport to drum up some Christmas spirit. Unfortunately for Kurt Russell, it also required some serious effort — not ideal for a man sporting a partially fake beard containing delicate pieces that were prone to breakage. Add to that the fact that Russell was already weighed down by a substantial leather Santa coat that clocked in at a ridiculous 50 pounds, and you might get the impression that "The Christmas Chronicles" and its sequel provided Russell with one of his most deceptively challenging roles in years.
Still, it was arguably all worth it. Though "The Christmas Chronicles 2" wasn't quite as magical an outing as its predecessor, it did help establish Russell as easily one of the best Santa Clauses in movies. What's more, it carried on the tradition of the veteran actor sporting some of the finest on-screen facial hair in the history of Hollywood. Whether there will be a "Christmas Chronicles 3," however, remains unclear.