Kurt Russell is opening up about the success of The Madison and other Taylor Sheridan projects. He has a solid theory on why Sheridan was able to build such a television empire.
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Speaking with Deadline, Russell said that Sheridan connects well with "the silent majority."
"You keep finding yourself saying, 'I know that moment,' or 'I know those people,'" Russell said. That relatability allows a lot of different people to watch the show and connect with the characters on the screen.
Russell said that he had never done anything like the TV project before. The actor praised the show for its adult themes.
"It's really an adult-themed show, because you can't really appreciate [the story] until you have something like that happen to you at a certain time in your life," Russell added of The Madison. "I've never done anything like The Madison in terms of how it hits people."
Kurt Russell Speaks Out
Russell said that the show deals with both love and grief in very complex ways.
"Very few people have the opportunity to have a wonderful 40-year marriage but where you had no idea how wonderful it was, like Michelle's character," Russell said of the plot. "How do you show that? How do you talk about that? She's so wrought with not just guilt, but angst and anger at herself for getting all of him."
However, the real relatability may be in how the show tackles aging.
"As you get older and you've only got so much time left, that doubles things up in terms of looking at what you've done in your life so far and what you want to do with the rest of your life," he said.
Russell has related his on-screen marriage with his real life marriage.
"Some of the conversations that [Preston and Stacy] have, I've had," he said. "Goldie and I have had very similar conversations. Their relationship, it's the kind of relationship you almost never see anymore. It's a truly loving relationship. It's not like there's another shoe to drop. That's what makes it so difficult for [Michelle's] character when she loses her husband."
