Exclusive: Kurt Russell Jokes His Super Bowl Commercial Is All About Keeping Up With His Labrador, Roy

Kurt Russell can't help but be his jovial self as he sits for an interview ahead of his Super Bowl LX commercial for Michelob ULTRA.

It's not the reception one would expect from the 74-year-old Hollywood legend, who once admitted that, as a 12-year-old child actor on the Disney studio lot, he famously avoided publicists by gunning it to the rafters and hiding up there with the electricians.

"All the electricians up there knew when I was coming up," he told GQ in 2016. "They go 'get up here!' And I'd go hide."

Russell claims he's bad at giving interviews, before making everyone around him comfortable with his magnetic aw-shucks charisma, a pizzazz that's witchingly hypnotizing.

It's that same allure fans can expect from Russell, who plays "The ULTRA Instructor" and coaches actor Lewis Pullman to unlock his competitive edge and dominate his friends when Michelob ULTRA is on the line. Set to the soundtrack of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," Russell channels his inner Mr. Miyagi and a quasi-Rocky Balboa, before feeling a sense of accomplishment of a job well done. He also stars alongside Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim and fellow Olympian and Stanley Cup champion T.J. Oshie.

The agency behind the campaign, W+K New York, went all out for this ad, directed by Top Gun: Maverick and F1 director Joseph Kosinski. The campaign is a nod to celebrate Team USA. Michelob ULTRA, the best-selling beer in America in 2025, is the official beer sponsor for Team USA.

Russell tells Men's Journal that the concept appealed to him. But he also admitted other hilariously motivating factors drove him to appear in his first-ever Super Bowl commercial.

"Now, the other thing is that I got some history with [the Super Bowl], which I'd done an opening for one of the Super Bowls," he tells Men's Journal. "

Related: Is the Underdog Arc Lewis Pullman's Greatest Superpower?

Russell downplays delivering one of the all-time great introductions for Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 between the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Even more badass? Russell's speech was set to Metallica.

Then there's his Labrador, Roy Hawn Russell.

"He got picked to be the Budweiser lab," said Russell of Roy, who appeared in the Super Bowl LVIII commercial. "So, after I realized Joe Kosinski was going to direct it, and we talked about what it could be, and the ULTRA people were great, I said, 'What the heck?' This could be good. This could be fun.

"And maybe I'll get a chance to catch up to my dog."

Russell says she was drawn to the Michelob ULTRA character because he was this "mysterious guy." But there was also more to it.

"There was some fun connection to coaching, which I'd done in Miracle, and that was connected with the Olympics."

Russell portrayed legendary Team USA men's hockey coach Herb Brooks, who helped engineer arguably the greatest upset in sports history when the U.S. beat the heavily favored Soviets in the medal round, before beating Finland to clinch the gold medal.

The upset against the Soviets is known as "The Miracle on Ice," which produced legendary broadcaster Al Michaels' most famous call ("Do you believe in miracles? YES!"). The 1980 classic, which astonishingly aired on tape delay at the time, is currently the subject of the Netflix documentaryMiracle: The Boys of '80.

The parallels are undeniable.

"I just liked what it could be and what it could say in terms of having some fun with Lewis' character, who goes from zero to hero," Russell explains.

And just as Russell is about to dive into the scale and pace of shooting a Super Bowl commercial, the divine Goldie Hawn walks into the room.

"There's Goldie," Russell announces.

Hawn beams when congratulated about Kate Hudson's Oscar nomination for Best Actress in Song Sung Blue. The nomination in the leading category comes 25 years after Hudson was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2001, at the age of 21, for her role in Almost Famous.

Famously, Hawn was nominated -- and won -- Best Supporting Actress in 1969 for Cactus Flower, and she earned a Best Actress nomination in 1981 for Private Benjamin.

"Our two leading ladies," Russell says with a twinkle.

Russell will star in Taylor Sheridan's new drama The Madison on Paramount+, a Yellowstone spinoff also starring Michelle Pfeiffer. The Madison, premiering March 14, is set in Montana, where the Clyburns moved from New York City. It's described as a "heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana."

Pfeiffer plays Stacy Clyburn, a wealthy matriarch who moves the family from the Big Apple to Big Sky Country. Russell plays her husband, Preston.

The project reunites Russell with Pfeiffer, whom he starred alongside in the 1988 neo-noir film Tequila Sunrise.

For Russell, the project proved too enticing.

"It really did reach me as far as on a personal level. I also think [Taylor Sheridan's] writing is particularly good. I hadn't worked with Michelle for many, many years," Russell says. "I had been doing [the Apple TV+ series] Monarch for the last couple of years, and this was quite different. Everything in terms of tone ... there was no reason not to want to do it."

Something else he wants to do is enjoy all the Super Bowl commercials on Sunday. Russell's a rabid baseball fan, but you can bet he'll park his butt and watch the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots clash in what could be another classic, like when the teams met a decade ago in Super Bowl XLIX.

"These commercials are like mini movies," he exclaims. "They stand on their own. And like I said, I'm just trying to keep up with my dog."