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| Real Name: Kevin Michael Costner | ||||
| Birthday: January 18, 1955 | ||||
| Place of Birth: Los Angeles, CA | ||||
| Education: California State University, Fullerton (business administration, marketing) | ||||
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Kevin Costner Biography and Filmography: An Academy Award winner, this fine-looking, good-natured leading man with a straight-faced style made his now infamous major film debut in director Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill" with Glenn Close (1983). Though his scenes ended up being removed completely, the cutting room disaster only slowed Costner’s rise to superstardom. Kasdan gave him the prominent, flashy role of the wild gunfighter, Jake, in the action packed western, "Silverado" (1985). Costner’s repeated collaborations with Kasdan, as well as directors Ron Shelton and Kevin Reynolds, gave an inspiring string of hits through to the 1990s, assuring his status as one of Hollywood’s top leading men and sexy celebrities. Comfortable in a variety of genres, Costner’s atmosphere of uncomplicated common virtue earned him comparisons with Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart. While the superstar’s reputation took somewhat of a dip at the beginning of the new millennium, the multi talented Kevin Costner mounted a comeback mid decade, appearing in than five features including the romantic comedy “Rumor Has It” with heavyweight Jennifer Aniston (2005), the watery action adventure drama “The Guardian” with newcomer Ashton Kutcher (2006) and the psychological thriller, “Mr. Brooks” alongside Demi Moore (2007).
Afar returning from his Puerto Vallarta honeymoon in 1978, Costner had a fortunate encounter with actor Richard Burton who was on the same flight. Starting up a conversation, it was the renowned thespian who inspired Costner to pursue his dream of acting full time. With the support of his new wife, Cindy, Costner began taking acting lessons five nights a week, while working as a marketing representative during the day. Though the marketing job only lasted two months, Costner continued to support himself and his wife by working a variety of small jobs. After a few years in small roles and low budget dramas, Costner almost landed his big break when he was hired in writer-director Lawrence Kasdan’s influential 1983 comedy-drama “The Big Chill.” A gloomy coming-of-age drama about the baby boomer generation, “The Big Chill” starred a group of talented, but still unknown young actors, including Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Tilly and Mary Kay Place. Hired for the lead role of Alex, the dead friend whose funeral opens the film, Costner was supposed to be a much larger character than he ended up being. Originally, Alex was to have been seen throughout the movie in a spat of flashbacks, showing him as the symbolic paste that bonded these seven unlike friends together. Unfortunately, when the movie was screened for test audiences, many complained that the flashbacks were interfering with the drama already in progress. Giving in to studio pressure, Kasdan grudgingly cut all of Kevin’s scenes from the movie - though one brief shot survived, of Costner lying in the casket. Kasdan felt so guilty about cutting Costner’s scenes that he promised the young actor the lead in his next film.
Costner worked on two highly regarded movies, back-to-back. The first was director Roger Donaldson’s “No Way Out” (1987), a of the 1948 thriller “The Big Clock” starring Ray Milland. The second was director Brian DePalma’s big screen variation of “The Untouchables” with powerhouse help from Sean Connery and Robert De Niro (1987). With his laid-back charisma and relatable personality, Costner proved to be a perfect fit to play clean cut detective, Eliot Ness. A massive commercial success when released, “The Untouchables” put Costner’s career onto the fast track. "Bull Durham” (1988) would mark Costner as a bankable romantic lead. Directed by Ron Shelton, the picture cast Costner as Crash Davis, an older minor league baseball player who starts a scorching love affair with a baseball groupie, Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon). Nominated for an Oscar, the immensely successful “Bull Durham” was the turning point in Costner’s career. His follow-up smash hit, “Field of Dreams” (1989), was definitely a grand slam. A tender story about an Iowa corn farmer (Costner) who receives a spiritual command to build a baseball field in his backyard cornfield. Nominated for three Oscars, “Field of Dreams” was named one of the best films of 1989 by critic Roger Ebert. Costner’s next home run was "Dances With Wolves" (1990). A blockbuster, the movie was a landmark in the depiction of Native American Indians in Hollywood. It scored seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. Firmly established as one of the biggest box-office hits in Hollywood, Kevin continued to find large audiences to his films, whether to his 1991 "J.F.K", or the 1991 flick "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" with Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater and Sean Connery. When Costner’s critically panned romantic thriller, “The Bodyguard" (1992), even became a standout hit, the size of his box office power became very clear. The next Costner project, the Clint Eastwood-directed "A Perfect World" (1993), in which he portrayed a fascinating, but mentally unhinged escaped prisoner who takes a young boy hostage and leaves a wild road trip. Though the film received assorted reviews and only moderate box-office returns, Costner’s performance was mentioned as one of the best of his career and an opportunity for him to play the bad guy. The next year, Kevin brought a new twist to a legendary lawman in Lawrence Kasdan's "Wyatt Earp" (1994), which he also co-produced. Showing the simple family man side of his character, the movie focused on Earp’s early loss of a young wife and the effect this misfortune would have on his later career. Meanwhile, family would again remain a strong theme in "The War" (1994), with the actor playing a returning Vietnam veteran who seeks to restore a better life for his wife and children. In a supporting role, Costner played a suffering man trying to teach his young son the value of lessons he had learned during the war. He finished off the year as co-producer of the adventure "Rapa Nui," a box office flop directed by Kevin Reynolds.
Costner chose a science fiction action adventure for his next movie as an actor and producer, teaming with Reynolds for "Waterworld" (1995), an apocalyptic "Mad Max" on water. In it, he played the Mariner, a half man and half amphibian hero. After a remarkably troubled shoot in the waters off Hawaii, inundated by delays and mishaps - the most impressive being the over-the-top set sinking to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean – the production ended in early 1995. The budget supposedly soared as high as $185 million, making it the most expensive movie ever made. Further complications arose when director Reynolds quit the film over creative differences with Costner just two months before the scheduled July 28 release date. "Waterworld" was not the disaster predicted by industry insiders and it earned a few respectable reviews and eventually broke even – the film’s poor returns and bad tabloid press were a stain on Costner’s once perfect track record. Costner next made a return in Ron Shelton's golf based themed comedy, "Tin Cup" (1996), but the expensive movie just broke even. An even bigger disappointment was his second directorial effort, the three hour project, "The Postman" (1997). Set in the future, the movie was hurt by a misleading trailer and bad reviews; becoming one of the highest profile failures of 1997. The next several years saw Costner taking on a variety of roles, none of which served to give his career the boost that was needed after his negative flops, including the unequal romance, "Message in a Bottle" (1999) and yet another baseball film, "For the Love of the Game" (1999). Costner received a break from tabloids when his passion project about the Cuban Missile Crisis, "Thirteen Days" (2000), premiered to very good reviews. Costner followed up “13 Days” with the ill-fated action comedy, “3000 Miles to Graceland” (2001) and the bad thriller, “Dragonfly" (2002). Costner co-financed his next movie, “Open Range” (2003), which he also directed. He played the leader of a trio of free range cattle drivers who get into trouble with the tough sheriff. “Open Range” had many of the customs of classic western films, the movie confused the critics.
Costner’s subsequent role as another baseball player in the comedy drama, "The Upside of Anger" with Evan Rachel Wood (2005), earned the actor some of his best reviews in years. Costner next worked with director Andrew Davis for the action drama, "The Guardian" with Ashton Kutcher – a bad reproduction of director Taylor Hackford’s far superior “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982). While “The Guardian” awaited release, Costner was seen in “Rumor Has It,” Rob Reiner’s poor attempt at updating “The Graduate” (1967), and made yet another run for a big-screen comeback, as the title character in the psychological thriller, “Mr. Brooks”. Costner played against type as a serial killer who shares some blistering screen time with William Hurt, a fellow Oscar winner and friend from “The Big Chill.” Although reviews were less than happy about the film, Costner received glowing mentions for his role as a serial killer with a conscience. Next was more comedy and drama in the film "Swing Vote" (2008) where in a remarkable turn-of-events, the result of the presidential election comes down to one man's vote. Costner was then hired and cast in the horror thriller "The New Daughter" (2009), about a single father who moves his two children to rural Illinois, only to watch his daughter exhibit increasingly strange behavior. Kevin ended 2008 with the television animation "The Explorers Guild" (2008) an animated Internet video series centers about a group of globe-trotting Victorian-era explorers and their Gothic adventurers.
Family
Significant Others
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Born
in Lynwood, CA on Jan. 18, 1955, Kevin Michael Costner was the youngest son
of electric company worker William Costner and his wife, Sharon. Though an everyday
student, Costner grew up to be an exceptional athlete. In
addition to being a sportsman, Costner’s parents made sure
that their son received a standard weekly measure of culture by enrolling him in
piano lessons and even the church choir. Because of his father’s work,
Costner spent a large amount of his childhood moving from city to city, up and
down the California coast. Around the late 1960's and into the
early 1970's, William Costner retired, settling his family down in Visalia,
CA. After graduating from Villa Park High School in 1973, Costner enrolled
at California State University, Fullerton where he majored in business and
became a member, and later president, of the Delta Chi Fraternity.
While his grades were less than great, Costner did manage to exit college with three
vital things: his bachelor’s degree, a timid new bride and a newborn love of acting.
True
to his word, three years later, Costner headlined an all star cast in
Kasdan’s 1985 western, “Silverado.” While the movie didn't make him
an overnight celebrity, it did get Costner’s handsome face out there,
and would be the beginning of a solid rise. 
