Backdraft on Arte: Look, Kurt Russell plays two roles!

Released in theaters in 1991, Backdraft tells the story of two brothers who, after witnessing the tragic death of their father, an elite officer in Chicago’s 17th Fire Department, are destined to become firefighters.

Twenty years after the tragedy, Stephen (Kurt Russell) has become an honorary firefighter, but Brian (William Baldwin) lives by doing odd jobs. Back in Chicago, the latter still decides to resume training under his brother’s skeptical eye when the city catches fire.

While Ron Howard’s spectacular drama airs this Sunday night on Arte, we’re taking the opportunity to lift the curtain on a fun anecdote you might have noticed: Kurt Russell plays… two characters in the movie!

For most of Backdraft, Kurt Russell plays fireman Stephen McCaffrey. But if you’re keen watchers, you’ll notice that the American actor, at the very beginning of the featurette, also explains in a flashback… the role of his father Danny, who tragically dies in a fire.

Note that Kurt Russell wears a mustache for the role of McCaffrey Sr. A small physical feature that undoubtedly allowed many people to not realize that the actor played father and son in Backdraft!

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