Colonel Jonathon "Jack" O'Neil

Movie Version

Kurt Russell

Born Kurt Vogel Russell on the 17 March 1951 (Springfield, Massachusetts, USA), he landed  his first onscreen role in the Elvis movie, "It Happened at the World's Fair" at the tender age of ten, after Walt Disney himself signed Russell to a ten year contract when he was only nine years old (in 1960).

Once his stint as a child actor ended, Russell spent the early 1970's playing minor league baseball.  He then established himself as one of the industry's foremost leading men with his breakthrough performance in the title role of the acclaimed mini-series "Elvis," directed by John Carpenter. For his compelling and honest depiction of "the King," Russell was honored with an Emmy Award nomination.

He went on to collaborate with John Carpenter again on the feature films "The Thing," "Escape From New York" and "Big Trouble in Little China." His subsequent films include Mike Nichols' "Silkwood," Robert Zemeckis' "Used Cars" and Jonathan Demme's "Swing Shift." More recently, he starred in such notable films as Jonathan Kaplan's suspense-thriller "Unlawful Entry," Ron Howard's pyrotechnic hit "Backdraft," also starring Robert DeNiro, the action-packed "Tango and Cash" and "Tequila
Sunrise."

He is 'married' by common-law to Goldie Hawn  since 1983 to present day.  They have a son called Wyatt.   He was previously married to Season Hubley and they have a son called  Boston.

With an incredibly long list of Film and Television credits to his name, Russell has proven himself a versitle actor within a career that has spanned more than 30 years. 

His performance of Jack O'Neil (spelling of the name differed from the Movie to the Series) was a more serious, angry version.  Jack's son had recently killed himself while playing with one of Jack's guns, a thing that the Military man could never forgive himself for.  This grief compaounds to trouble within his marriage to Sarah (?) as well.  So as we meet up with him, ready to discover what lies beyond the Stargate, we meet a embittered man who is dealing with a lot of internal demons.

He was particularly antagonistic towards Daniel Jackson, because he "dislikes scientists" - he referred to the man as a geek.  And he has only one mission in mind.  Seek out the source of the Stargate and destroy any possible threat to Earth.  Ready to carry that order out to the fullest, even at the cost of his own life, Jack is head strong, and one-eyed about his mission. 

It is through his involvement with Daniel Jackson and the people of this world that he finally learns compassion and 'care' for his fellow man.  Jack also discovers something else on that world (the world we come to know as Abydos) and that is Skaara.  Sha'uri's brother, Skaara, touches something within Jack that he thought was long dead.  We see Jack angry when the boy touches his gun, reflecting his own grief and anger at the senseless death of his own son.   Jack discovers that not all his feelings are dead, as a special bond forms between these two characters, one that is carried through to the series (when the role of Skaara is again played by Alexa Cruz).

By the time we come to say goodbye to Daniel and the people of Abydos, we see a man who has learnt that not all orders are to be followed and that sometimes you need to rely on and trust your fellow man more.

Although I enjoyed the Jack O'Neil of the movie - and I really liked Kurt Russell's portrayal of him, I do prefer the softer, more mellow version of the tv series. 

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