The Untold Truth Of Kevin Costner

Today, television audiences know Kevin Costner as John Dutton on the hit drama series "Yellowstone," but back in the 1990s, the man was everywhere. After getting his start as an extra on low-budget films, he moved to bigger fare with blockbuster movies like "No Way Out," "Field of Dreams," and the Oscar-winning "Dances with Wolves." And the man has had some serious staying power. After the double whammy of "Waterworld" and "The Postman" — massive flops that could've easily tanked his career for good — Costner picked himself up and dusted himself off, and today, he's wowing audiences all over again with his impressive "Yellowstone" performance over on the Paramount Network.

But how did Costner go from working odd jobs in Los Angeles and auditioning for bit parts to winning Oscars and playing in all-time classics like "The Untouchables," "JFK," and "Bull Durham?" And what sparked his sustained interest in Western epics and baseball flicks? Well, as it turns out, his journey to Hollywood stardom is basically an example of the American dream in action. Here's how Kevin Costner went from feeling like a teenage misfit to becoming one of the most bankable leading men in the entertainment industry.

Growing up, Kevin Costner always did have a love for the movies. Granted, he had no idea that he would be starring in films of his own one day, but he often found himself getting lost in the great ones. There were a few movies that made a particularly profound impact on him.

Costner has stated that the classic film "How the West Was Won" "formed" his childhood. "The impression for me, hearing Spencer Tracy and watching CinemaScope and seeing Jimmy Stewart in that canoe was so strong that it got into my nostrils," Costner said in an interview with Roger Ebert. "I actually went ahead and built three canoes in my life. I traveled the rivers of Lewis and Clark when I was out of high school." 

Costner also sought out other Western films. He loved "Red River" and "The Searchers," both of which are considered two of John Wayne's best films. He always felt a connection to this time period in American history, and it influenced his choice of acting roles as his career got off the ground — as well as the types of projects he was inclined to select as his star rose in Hollywood and he acquired the type of clout it takes to make major movies happen through sheer force of will.

Although Kevin Costner eventually decided what path he wanted to take, he still felt that he needed some encouragement. After all, pursuing an acting career is a major risk, and he worried about whether or not he really had what it took to succeed in Hollywood. But a chance encounter with Academy Award-winning actor Richard Burton ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," "Cleopatra") gave Costner the confidence he needed to go after his dreams.

Costner and his wife were catching a flight home on their way back from their honeymoon when the newlyweds noticed that Burton was also seated on their plane. Costner was nervous to approach the actor to ask for his advice, but he decided to go for it anyway ... and he was relieved when Burton was supportive of Costner's ambitions. "I desperately wanted to talk to him," Costner told Yahoo! Entertainment. "The conversation never really expanded other than there was a gentleness and a kindness and looking at me saying, 'I think you should try this.'" This was just what Costner needed to hear, and after receiving this bit of affirmation, he finally felt confident that he could make a living as an actor.

Eventually, Kevin Costner began landing some small roles in movies. He made his professional acting debut in the indie film "Sizzle Beach, U.S.A." (alternatively titled as "Malibu Hot Summer"), playing the owner of a horse stable in Malibu who has a fling with a summer tourist. And he followed that up with a bit part as a frat boy in "Night Shift." Of course, his unnamed character doesn't exactly play a huge role in the film, but at this stage of Costner's career, he was grateful for any opportunity to get in front of the camera.

In 1982, Costner also made a brief, uncredited appearance in the film "Frances." Sure, he wasn't a household name just yet, but in the early 1980s, Costner was finally starting to get his foot in the door and make some connections. These minor roles weren't especially impressive, but he was making some progress.

In "Silverado," Costner played Jake, an exuberant gunslinger and one member of a group of misfit cowboys who end up chasing their fortunes to the town of Silverado, but if they want to strike it rich, they'll have to settle their scores with a corrupt rancher and the local sheriff. "Silverado" is the kind of Western movie that Costner loved to watch as a child, and it earned positive reviews from critics and brought Costner more publicity. In a review for The Moving Picture Show, critic Joe Leydon wrote, "Costner, a relative newcomer, gives an ingratiating performance that should mark him for bigger and better things."

Costner's working relationship with the film's director, Lawrence Kasdan (who also wrote "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark"), opened up doors for him in Hollywood. In fact, 1985 turned out to be a big year for Costner. After the release of "Silverado," he went on to appear in the film "Fandango," and he was also on an episode of Steven Spielberg's TV series "Amazing Stories."

In 1987, Costner starred as Navy lieutenant Tom Farrell in the crime drama "No Way Out," which finally established him as a true leading man. In this neo-noir thriller, Farrell has an affair with a young woman named Susan Atwell (Sean Young) ... who later turns up dead. Farrell knows that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice (Gene Hackman), also had a fling with Susan, which complicates the mystery. Farrell is put in charge of figuring out who committed the crime, but as more clues are revealed, he worries that he might somehow be implicated.

Starring in "No Way Out" was a landmark moment for Costner's career. He wasn't just the big name of the moment — he'd proven that he could command the lead in a serious, gripping film, and he was well on his way to becoming one of Hollywood's A-listers. Although "The Untouchables" was received well by critics, "No Way Out" earned even higher praise, particularly in regards to Costner's role. In fact, Roger Ebert stated that Costner's performance was "a lot more interesting and complex than his work in 'The Untouchables.'" Of course, while we'll definitely defend Costner's performance in Brian De Palma's gangster flick, there's no denying the actor was improving with each film.

Kevin Costner saw the most important achievement of his career with "Dances with Wolves," an epic Western that he directed and starred in. In this 1990 drama, Costner played Union Army lieutenant John J. Dunbar, who's sent to a remote outpost of the American frontier and begins living with a Lakota tribe. He decides to leave his previous life behind to become a part of the tribe, but when other Union soldiers arrive with plans for their land, he finds himself in a dangerous position.

Critics lauded the film for revitalizing the Western genre without resorting to cliches. "While violating almost every Hollywood taboo, Costner has restored some of its most cherished traditions," Brian D. Johnson wrote in a review for MacLean's. "He has created an adventure with hot-blooded action, breathtaking scenery and a noble theme — a spectacle with the sort of wide-screen grandeur that has become almost extinct."

Funnily enough, Costner said that he originally didn't want to be in the director's chair, but no one else seemed to understand the script the way he did. "I never had a burning desire to direct," Costner told The New York Times. "But everyone I showed the script to knew what the film didn't need, what should be cut. But I knew this was a three-hour film." "Dances with Wolves" ended up solidifying Costner's career and earning 12 Academy Award nominations and seven wins, with Costner being awarded Best Director over legends like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.

More than an actor, Kevin Costner is also a content creator. He co-wrote the upcoming 19th century-set Western epic "Horizon" and developed HearHere, a narrated history and travel app. 

Costner also added "author" to his extensive resume in 2015 with his first published work of full-length fiction, "The Explorers Guild: Volume One: A Passage to Shambhala." A graphic novel illustrated by Rick Ross and co-authored with frequent collaborator Jon Baird, Costner's story takes place during World War I and concerns a secret league of daring adventurers who travel the world in search of a golden city spoken about in Buddhist legends. Kirkus Reviews called the first of possibly many entries in "The Explorers Guild" "a rousing throwback whose spinning plates never stop, even at the end."

Costner also contributed words of wisdom and life lessons he's learned to "Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers," an anthology spearheaded by self-help author Tim Ferriss.

Released in the fall of 1992, "The Bodyguard" was such a massive hit — $410 million at the global box office and featuring one of the best-charting soundtracks ever (per Billboard) — that a sequel was almost a foregone conclusion, from a business standpoint. However, because the movie's central romantic characters don't wind up together, any future "Bodyguard" movie seeking to recreate the original's formula would have to pair off the pop star or bodyguard with a new person. 

According to PeopleTV, Kevin Costner (not Whitney Houston) was set to be the actor returning for "The Bodyguard 2," and he approached a very famous person with little acting experience to star as his on-screen lover: Princess Diana of the United Kingdom. Costner considered making the movie from the get-go with Diana in his head, and he spoke to her on a few occasions, with the talks set up by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of Wales.

Costner received the screenplay for "The Bodyguard 2" in August 1997. Tragically, the very next day, Princess Diana died in a car accident at age 36, and so the movie never entered production.