Kurt and Wyatt Russell tell Seth Meyers why their only joint 'Monarch' scene will never see light of day
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Hollywood icon Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt Russell whom he shares with Goldie Hawn, share a strong family resemblance, and this likeness is prominently featured in the Apple TV+ series 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters'.
During a January 10 appearance on 'Late Night with Seth Meyers', they revealed that they shot a scene together as the two Lee Shaws (or Lees Shaw), but unfortunately, the scene won't be included in the final production.
'We shot one, but it wasn't used'
In the series, which alternates between two time periods to explore the ascent and potential decline of the Godzilla-tracking Monarch organization, both Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell portray Monarch co-founder, Lee Shaw.
"We shot one, but it wasn't used," shared the elder Russell, leading to both Kurt and Wyatt breaking into nearly identical laughter.
In a jesting manner, Seth Meyers quipped, "No chemistry?' 'They just don't seem like they like each other!"
Regarding how they ended up playing the same character onscreen, Wyatt Russell explained that 'Monarch's casting director proposed the idea to the Russells' agent.
Initially uncertain, Wyatt mentioned, "We sort of thought, 'I don't know, maybe. It could be the worst idea of all time, too.' As we went down the rabbit hole, we started thinking it might be a good idea."
"We'd had the opportunity to play a father and son before," Kurt Russell added.
Before 'Monarch', "nothing really struck our fancy. In our family, a lot of us are in the same business, and we just kind of go down our own paths. But yet, I think everybody in the family, we'd all like to work with each other at some time or another. An this was a different kind of opportunity. We are able to play the same person. It's also very challenging because you are not playing father and son. You are playing the same person."
Kurt and Wyatt Russell share unique experience of playing same character
Kurt and Wyatt Russell, reflecting on playing the same character, acknowledged that while it was a unique opportunity, it posed more of a challenge.
Kurt Russell revealed to Meyers that he based his performance on observing his son during the scenes.
"I found myself going down to Wyatt's set, watching him. And I realized, 'yeah, this is interesting.' I stopped watching Wyatt and I started just watching the actor, and I said, 'This guy is good, man'."
"Thanks, Dad," Wyatt joked in response. The Russells expressed satisfaction in seeing their performances hold their own against the enormous CGI monsters, or kaiju, in the series.
Wyatt Russell humorously remarked, "It was very exciting and also very just affirming—because in my head, I was always going, 'Well, if I suck, the monsters are going to be sick'. They teased that the season concludes with "a great last shot".
