1980s

Modeling assignments began to wane for Russo as she entered her 30s. She did a few more commercials and then turned her back on modeling for a period of time. She studied theater and acting, and began appearing in theater roles at small theaters in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California. At one point, she took acting lessons from veteran actor Allan Rich, whom she credits with introducing her to the craft of acting.^[14] Russo made her debut in a television series in 1987, with a supporting role in the short-lived ABC production Sable, based on the comic book, Jon Sable: Freelance by Mike Grell. She made her feature film debut as the girlfriend of a former baseball star in Major League, a comedy written and directed by David S. Ward. The film was a critical success.^[15]

1990s

In 1990, Russo appeared in the fantasy comedy film Mr. Destiny, with Jim Belushi, playing the wife in what was an alternate reality of an ordinary guy's life. In 1991, she had her first leading film role in One Good Cop, as the wife of a New York City Police Department detective (played by Michael Keaton). In 1992, Russo achieved breakout success with her role as internal affairs detective Lorna Cole, opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, in the action film Lethal Weapon 3.^[16] The film made US$320 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1992 and the highest-grossing film in the Lethal Weapon film series.^[17] Her other 1992 film release was the science fiction film Freejack, which despite an overall negative response, earned Russo a nomination for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Throughout the 1990s, Russo took on major roles in a number of commercially and critically successful films. In 1993, she starred with Clint Eastwood in the thriller film In the Line of Fire, directed by Wolfgang Petersen, playing a federal agent involved with the sole active-duty Secret Service agent remaining from the detail guarding John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, at the time of his assassination in 1963. The film made US$176.9 million globally,^[18] and received three Academy Awards nominations.^[19] In 1995, Petersen cast her as a medical doctor, who uncovers a newly discovered Ebola-like virus which came to the United States from Africa in an infected monkey, in the medical disaster film Outbreak, with Dustin Hoffman.^[20] The film grossed over US$189 million worldwide.^[17] She starred as a B movie actress, opposite John Travolta, in the crime comedy Get Shorty, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Upon its release, Get Shorty opened atop at the North American box office and remained number one for three consecutive weeks.^[21]

In 1996, Russo played a clinical psychologist and the love interest of a former golf prodigy with little ambition in the romantic comedy Tin Cup, with Kevin Costner, and reunited with Mel Gibson to play his wife in the crime thriller Ransom, directed by Ron Howard. While Tin Cup was a moderate commercial success, Ransom was the 6th highest-grossing film of 1996, with a worldwide gross of US$309.5 million.^[22] In 1997, Russo portrayed exotic animal owner Gertrude Lintz in the little-seen comedy Buddy,^[17][23] and in 1998, reprised her role in Lethal Weapon 4, the final film in the series, which made US$285.4 million.^[24] In 1999, she starred as an insurance investigator and the lover of a billionaire, alongside Pierce Brosnan, in the heist film The Thomas Crown Affair directed by John McTiernan. Critic Kenneth Turan, in his review for the film, wrote: "[Her] smart, gritty performance is the best thing about this remake of the stylish caper movie Thomas Crown."^[25] The production grossed US$124.3 million worldwide.^[17]

2000s

In 2000, Russo obtained the role of villain Natasha Fatale, opposite Robert De Niro and Piper Perabo, in the adventure comedy The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, directed by Des McAnuff and based on the television cartoon of the same name by Jay Ward. The film received mixed reviews from critics and went largely unnoticed at the box office.^[26] For her portrayal, she received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress,^[27] and conversely, a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.^[28] She reunited with De Niro to play the producer of a reality police show in the comedy Showtime (2002), also starring Eddie Murphy. Budgeted at US$85 million, the film grossed US$77.7 million.^[29]

The comedy Big Trouble, which was based on the novel by Dave Barry and featured her as a devoted mother, was originally scheduled for release on September 21, 2001, and had a strong advertising push. The events of September 11 of that year cast a pall over the movie's comedic smuggling of a nuclear device onto an airplane. Consequently, the film was pushed back until 2002, and the promotion campaign was toned down almost to the point of abandonment. The film came to theaters and left quickly afterwards, without generating much of an impact.^[30]

Russo starred in and produced the film Two for the Money (2005), with Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey, playing the wife of a sports gambling agent. In Yours, Mine & Ours (also 2005), Russo starred with Dennis Quaid, as a widowed handbag designer with ten kids. While Film Journal International felt that the "secret to the film's modest success can be summed up" in Russo and Quaid's performances,^[31] Daily Radar wrote that "the able-bodied actors fulfill the slapstick demands of this run-of-the-mill family comedy based on the 1968 movie with Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball".^[32] Despite receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics,^[33] the film made over US$72 million worldwide and marked her only commercial success in the decade.^[17] Following its release, Russo took a five-year hiatus from acting, opting to focus on her health and personal life.^[34]

2010s

Russo at the premiere of Thor in May 2011

In 2010, Russo returned to the screen in the superhero film Thor, released in 2011, after being persuaded by director Kenneth Branagh in December 2009, who asked her to portray Frigga, the mother of the titular hero.^[35] However, most of her scenes were removed in editing. She received more screen time in Thor: The Dark World (2013). She credited those films, which made more than US$1 billion combined,^[36] with introducing her to a new generation of filmgoers. "The funny thing is now I have kids coming up to me, and I'm thinking, 'how do you know my movies?' And they say, 'That's Thor's mummy'."^[37]

In 2014, Russo appeared as a morning news director, alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, in the crime thriller Nightcrawler, written and directed by her husband Dan Gilroy.^[38] The film was met with widespread praise and several critics listed it as one of the best films of 2014.^[39] Indiewire asserted: "Russo is an integral part of the narrative and she gives as good as she gets. The role is easily her finest in several years and the rich material uncorks a wealth of inventiveness from the actress. There's not a lot of imaginatively drawn roles for aging women, but Russo sinks her teeth into the role of a coldblooded vampiress protective of her own uncertain hold in the newsroom."^[40] Budgeted at US$8.5 million, the film grossed US$50.3 million.^[41]

Russo portrayed a groupie and the mother of director G.J. Echternkamp in his independent comedy Frank and Cindy (2015), based on the 2007 documentary of the same name.^[42] In 2015, she reunited once again with Robert De Niro, playing an in-house massage therapist and his love interest, in the comedy The Intern, directed by Nancy Meyers.^[43] The New York Post and The Washington Post found her to be a highlight in her role,^[44] and the film grossed US$194.6 million globally.^[45] Russo starred with Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones in another comedy, Just Getting Started (2017), as the regional director of the luxury resort Villa Capri in Palm Springs, California.^[46] Variety felt that the three actors "do little more than embarrass themselves here",^[47] as part of an overall negative response.^[48]

In Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), Russo worked again with Jake Gyllenhaal and Dan Gilroy, playing a tough art gallery owner haunted by the mysterious nature of a series of paintings by an unknown artist. The film was released by Netflix, to positive reviews.^[49] She briefly reprised her role of Frigga in Avengers: Endgame.

Film

Television