Wyatt Russell, Dennis Quaid star in 'Broke,' a modern-day western

LOS ANGELES -- Wyatt Russell is the leading man of the new modern-day western, "Broke." It's a low-budget film he also helped produce.

He is also one of the stars of the very big-budget movie, "Thunderbolts*."

There is a common denominator to both roles -- he gets more than a bit battered along the way!

While "Thunderbolts*" takes us into the Marvel world, "Broke" takes us into the world of the rodeo. Russell's character lets us know that: "Nothing and nobody can make me feel as alive as I do when I'm on the back of that horse for eight seconds."

In the film, he plays a struggling rodeo rider trying to hang onto his career. Dennis Quaid plays his father. It is a sometimes uneasy relationship.

"I think he sees himself in his son, and he can't quite express what he wants to express," said Quaid.

What Russell liked most about this movie was how it showcased an un-romanticized aspect of western culture, one we don't normally see in movies.

"This is the real look at it," said Russell. "We wanted to make a movie that had some reality of what this world actually is where 99% of these rodeo riders, like, they don't make it past the local rodeo stops. But they love it so much, it's such a part of who they are, that they don't want to give it up and that was important to showcase, I thought."

We see the struggles Russell's character goes through, including getting trapped in a freak blizzard that becomes a battle for survival.

"It just happened to be a blizzard that day, you know, up the mountain and, you know, it was 35 below but it felt like 15 below," Quaid said.

Russell was a little more blunt.

"It was such hell. It was such hell," he said. "It was unbelievable and we did it. And everything you see in that is real. You step outside and you're, like, ice on my beard and you throw some snow and you're good for the day. It was absolute, utter hell. And my trailer was, like, a Buick LeSabre."

"Broke" became available Tuesday to rent or own on all digital platforms.