‘MI’ role proves felicitous for Russell
Blindfolded, Keri Russell can assemble a stripped-down machine gun in less than 30 seconds.
Hey, if you’re going to appear in a big summer action film like “Mission: Impossible III,” you’d better get comfortable carrying around a big honking gun.
“It’s pretty amusing, being known as action girl,” the petite Russell says. “I’ve always been a dancer. That’s been my physical outlet.
“But for ‘Mission: Impossible’ I had to do an entirely different kind of training for the stunts, fights and weapons handling.”
It’s hard to imagine the waifish Russell, who charmed America as sensitive college student Felicity Porter in TV’s “Felicity,” mowing down evildoers. But she says she may have a genetic predisposition for things that go bang.
“My dad’s a hunter, a very Midwestern sort of guy,” she says. “There’s a photo of me at age 5 in overalls with a rainbow on the front. I’m holding a rifle as tall as I am in one hand and a dead bird in the other.”
In the film, Russell portrays a protege of master spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise). Her disappearance during a mission kicks the plot into action.
Hunt and his team mount a rescue effort, and before you can say “world’s most notorious haircut,” she and Cruise are running, jumping and shooting their way through an army of bad guys.
“There was a moment early on when I really got scared because it was all so intense,” Russell says. “I credit Tom with getting me through it. He has a way of making you feel capable and necessary and important.”
Though she just turned 30, Russell has spent half her life as a performing pro.
Born in L.A., she grew up in Mesa, Ariz., and Denver. Her first real gig was as a cast member of “The New Mickey Mouse Club.” Several years of small parts in film and television followed.
In 1998 Russell was cast as the lead in “Felicity,” a WB series about college students created by J.J. Abrams. The show was a hit, and Russell’s curly brown locks became a cultural touchstone.
A year into the series, Russell cut her hair and viewers howled in protest. Many think the series never came back from that blow.
But Russell won a Golden Globe for her work in the series. Perhaps just as important, she found a friend in Abrams, who went on to create TV’s “Alias” and “Lost” and makes his feature film debut directing “Mission: Impossible III.”
“J.J. spoils me,” Russell says. ” He really ‘gets’ women. And while ‘Alias’ is regarded as a big spy/action series, I think his real strength lies in personal relationships.
“He can observe and celebrate life’s little moments, and there’s quite a bit of that in his ‘Mission: Impossible.’ I think he’s the best thing that could happen to this series.”
The birthday bunch
Singer Teresa Brewer is 75. Singer Jimmy Ruffin is 67. Singer Thelma Houston is 60. News correspondent Tim Russert (“Meet the Press”) is 56. Actor Robert Hegyes (“Welcome Back, Kotter”) is 55. Actor Michael E. Knight (“All My Children”) is 47. Actress Traci Lords is 37. Actor Breckin Meyer (“Herbie: Fully Loaded”) is 32.