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Kevin Costner returns to the West in Horizon: An American Saga.
Extra’s Billy Bush spoke with Kevin about revisiting Civil War-era America decades after Dancing with Wolves and his big dream of making a Bodyguard sequel.
“The Bodyguard” originally starred Kevin and the late Whitney Houston, with Whitney playing a fictional famous singer protected by a character called Frank Farmer.
The film was released in 1993 and was a huge success, grossing $411 million worldwide.
Costner had plans to make a sequel starring Princess Diana, but she died before production began.
“That would have been the perfect movie,” Kevin said, “and when Princess Diana was trying to do it, I found a way…it would have been amazing and how she fit in there…it was incredible.”
If he were to make a sequel, Kevin said his character would have to defend “a very unusual person. I’ve never liked playing famous people,” he explained.
Referring to the original film, Costner added, “He played Whitney unconsciously. He doesn’t like it. He likes his Secret Service job.”
“The Bodyguard” aside, Costner just announced the big news that he will not be returning to “Yellowstone.”
There had been rumors that Costner’s character would be written off the show, but he said, “I hadn’t heard anything about how that was going to happen, and it was just time for me to move on as gracefully as possible with something that means so much to me.”
Kevin, who appeared on the popular show for five years, said: “I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do, the fun I’ve had, the fact that I helped sell it, the fact that I helped create it.”
Costner is known for his western roles in films such as Dances with Wolves, and is currently back in the spotlight with Horizon: An American Saga.
Does he feel he left something behind? He answers: “I wasn’t trying to be defined, but I knew I would return to Westerns because so much of what I learned came from the dilemmas they evoked.”
Costner spent $38 million of his own money to make the four-part Western series Horizon.
It had been reported that Kevin had mortgaged his house. He admitted: “It’s more than that. It’s quite serious.”
Costner tried not to hesitate about putting up the money, saying, “You have to know what you’re doing, and that’s what I’m doing right now. So now there’s no crying, no complaining. I just grab the rope.”
He pointed out, “I have dreams just like everyone else. And sometimes I have to give up on my dreams, and sometimes I can’t. And I have to figure out what to do. I can’t have everything I want. I hope someone can be my big brother and help me. And even if they don’t, I can’t give up on my dreams. And these things don’t have power over me. So those are the risks I can take and I did take.”
Kevin believes his film is worth seeing among the many other options, saying, “I have something that I think is different, something that’s worth getting out of the summer heat and driving in the dark for.”
“Horizon” will be released in theaters on June 28th.
