Film Russek entered the film industry as an
extra in 1950. He also acted on stage early in his career, but quit because he felt asphyxiated in the dressing rooms. He appeared in American television series such as
I Spy and
The High Chaparral, but he also landed roles in films such as
The Wild Bunch (1969),
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969),
Soldier Blue (1970),
Big Jake (1971),
The Wrath of God (1972), and
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), all while remaining active in Mexico. Russek won the
Diosa de Plata for Best Actor in 1973 for his role in the film ''
. Russek also won the Ariel Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 31st Ariel Awards in 1989 for his role in Los camaroneros''.
Telenovelas Russek earned his first main role in a
telenovela in 1986 when he played the role of a
Michoacán landowner named Don Fernando Vallarta in
La gloria y el infierno, which aired on
Televisa. His next main role on television was in the 1990 telenovela,
Días sin luna, where he played the role of Rogelio Santamaría. For his performance, he won the
TVyNovelas Award for Best Leading Actor at the
9th TVyNovelas Awards. Russek joined the cast of
La fuerza del amor as Gustavo soon afterwards. He won his second TVyNovelas Award for Best Leading Actor for his performance as Samuel Aldapa in the 1996 hit telenovela,
Cañaveral de Pasiones. His final role was in
Huracán, where he played the main antagonist, Néstor Villarreal, a wealthy businessman whose practices polluted the ocean. For his performance, he received the Award for Best Leading Actor at the
16th TVyNovelas Awards in May 1998.
Other work Russek was a professional photographer whose pictures were shown at various exhibitions. He often brought his
Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex camera to sets he worked on. Russek was known for his pictures of natural landscapes in Durango. He also served as an advisor to the
Durango Directorate of Tourism and Cinematography from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1992 to 1998. In his final years, he worked on an autobiography, which was tentatively titled
Una vida de película. == Personal life ==