Russell was born in Homestead, Florida, to a military family, making him the third of four sons to Buck and Juanita. He was offered a theatre arts scholarship in high school to attend Transylvania University in Kentucky, but instead, he decided to join the US Army after becoming a father his senior year.
During his time in the military, he discovered the esteemed Fort Bragg Playhouse, where he began performing regularly. After his stint in the military, he moved to New York City, where he spent two liberating years working odd jobs and doing regional theatre before joining the crew of the US Coast Guard cutter Sassafras in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Later, he met his wife Shelley in Long Beach, California, where they performed and directed together for several years. The couple then moved to 'The Big Easy', New Orleans, Louisiana, where their artistic lives flourished over the next 11 years. After that, they headed back west to be closer to family, settling in Seattle, Washington.
In addition to top-notch professional theatre, Russell took advantage of Seattle's thriving Independent film scene, appearing in a slew of Indies and making guest TV appearances on Leverage and Grimm. Before that, he was cast to play the "lovable stoner" Doc on the SyFy original series Z Nation in 2014.
