Kurt Russell: Being in ‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood’ brings me back

Kurt Russell — whose first big-screen role was at age 12 with Elvis Presley — says that working on Quentin Tarantino’s new opus “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” was like going back in time.

“It reminded me of me and my dad and my friends in the late ’60s and early ’70s. I grew up in that world,” Russell told Cigar Aficionado in a new cover story.

He plays a stunt coordinator in the film with Leonardo DiCaprio as a Hollywood actor and Brad Pitt as his stunt double.

“I worked with so many stunt coordinators when I was a kid that I had dealer’s choice about who to base him on,” Russell said of his role, adding his performance is “a real conglomerate.”

Russell took on a smaller role in the film to work with Tarantino again: “For me it was a quick-hit kind of deal, three days all together,” he said.

But in one scene, Russell jumps in when Pitt’s character faces off against Bruce Lee.

The interview also reveals that Russell was considered as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in the original “Star Wars,” as well as the lead in “Bull Durham,” which went to Kevin Costner.