Kurt Russell has played some truly iconic characters in hugely popular movies — and that’s not counting how George Lucas wanted him to play either Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. So it may seem a bit weird that Russell would go to such lengths for Santa Claus. Except, he’s been pretty open about how big of a deal it was to play the Father Christmas.

Speaking with GQ about his most iconic roles, Russell broke down how much Santa means to him. “Santa Claus is one of my favorite characters ever,” he said. “It was so big in our household, my father’s presentation of it as a mystery.” He also called Santa “a great sweet, wonderful saint of a man, who is a real person. It’s not a comic book character.”

Recently, on Conan O’Brien’s podcast promoting his role in “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” Russell was asked about his biggest role, the one that follows him around the most. Is it a Tarantino movie? Snake Plissken? No. Santa. “The biggest one I’ve ever had is Santa Claus,” Russell said. “Everybody saw it. It was really fun to do. It was something I always wanted to do. Kind of fun to go from Snake to Santa Claus.”

The thought of Kurt Russell considering playing Santa Claus his biggest achievement, not kicking Elvis in the chin or even playing Elvis in a movie directed by John Carpenter, is baffling and incredibly delightful. More than anything, it is a true Christmas miracle.