Is it fair to say that “Tombstone” is one of the best Westerns ever made? At the very least, it’s definitely one of the best modern Westerns (when I say “modern,” I mean a movie made after the traditional classic Hollywood Western movie boom). Directed by George P. Cosmatos, the stylish, violent saga tells the story of Wyatt Earp and the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Kurt Russell and his glorious mustache stars as Earp, with Val Kilmer stealing the entire movie as Earp’s sickly buddy, Doc Holliday. The stacked cast also includes Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Dana Delany, Michael Rooker, Billy Zane, Charlton Heston, and a voice cameo from Robert Mitchum.
When you make a Western, certain accoutrements are baked into the material. We’re talking pistols, cowboy boots, big ol’ hats, and of course, horses. Kurt Russell sat down with Esquire for a career-spanning interview, and during the course of the conversation, the actor fondly recalled his time working with his horse on “Tombstone.” In fact, Russell liked riding the horse so much that one day he took it for a joyride.
Kurt Russell took his Tombstone horse on a joyride
One thing you can say about Kurt Russell: he looks at home on a horse. Russell has played plenty of cowboys in his day, and he seems like a natural fit to ride off into the sunset. And that’s pretty much exactly what he did on the set of “Tombstone.” According to Russell, his horse on that film, named Sunday, was “a great horse.” He added: “I can just remember when we finished all I wanted to do was get on that horse. And in those days, you know, they were always very careful with horses and where they were going, and I just turned to the wrangler and I said, ‘Nobody can catch me on this thing, so don’t bother trying.’ And I said, ‘I’m going for a ride,’ and he said, ‘Got it.’ I just took off and spent about an hour with Sunday, and it was a release.”
There’s something touching about this story, with Russell taking Sunday the horse out for an hour-long ride all by himself. One imagines Russell was still in costume when he went for this little ride, which makes the story even better. You can almost picture it: Russell, in full Wyatt Earp gear, riding his horse Sunday through lush fields with the sun setting, burning orange-red and beautiful in a wide-open sky. We should all be so lucky to have experiences like that. But that’s the life of a famous actor for you. The rest of us will have to get back to work at our boring desks.