Kevin Costner
Biography
Kevin Michael Costner was born on January 18, 1955 in Lynwood, California, the third child of Bill Costner, a ditch digger and ultimately an electric line servicer for Southern California Edison, and Sharon Costner (née Tedrick), a welfare worker. His older brother, Dan, was born in 1950. A middle brother died at birth in 1953. His father's job required him to move regularly, which caused Kevin to feel like an Army kid, always the new kid at school, which led to him being a daydreamer. As a teen, he sang in the Baptist church choir, wrote poetry, and took writing classes. At 18, he built his own canoe and paddled his way down the rivers that Lewis & Clark followed to the Pacific. Despite his present height, he was only 5'2" when he graduated high school. Nonetheless, he still managed to be a basketball, football and baseball star. In 1973, he enrolled at California State University at Fullerton, where he majored in business. During that period, Kevin decided to take acting lessons five nights a week. He graduated with a business degree in 1978 and married his college sweetheart, Cindy Costner. He initially took a marketing job in Orange County. Everything changed when he accidentally met Richard Burton on a flight from Mexico. Burton advised him to go completely after acting if that is what he wanted. He quit his job and moved to Hollywood soon after. He drove a truck, worked on a deep sea fishing boat, and gave bus tours to stars' homes before finally making his own way into the films. After making one soft core sex film, he vowed to not work again if that was the only work he could do. He didn't work for nearly six years, while he waited for a proper break. That break came with The Big Chill (1983), even though his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor -- he was remembered by director Lawrence Kasdan when he decided to make Silverado (1985). Costner's career took off after that.
Christine Baumgartner (25 September 2004 - present) ( 3 children)
Trivia
Announced players who had been selected to Major League Baseball's All Century Team at the 1999 All Star game at Fenway Park in Boston.
Voted most erotic male by the readers of the German magazine "Amica". [May 1998]
Attended and graduated from Villa Park High School in Villa Park, California (1973).
Father of Joe Costner, Annie Costner and Lily Costner.
Youngest of three sons of Bill Costner, an electrician and later utilities executive, and his wife Sharon Costner, a welfare worker.
Ranked #27 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Children: (with ex-girlfriend Bridget Rooney) Liam Costner (born 1996); (with ex-wife Cindy Costner) Anne Clayton Costner (born April 15, 1984), Lily McCall Costner (born August 4, 1986) and Joe Tedrick Costner (born January 31, 1988); (with wife Christine Baumgartner) Cayden Wyatt Costner (born May 6, 2007), Hayes Logan Costner (born February 12, 2009) and Grace Avery Costner (born June 2, 2010).
His first wife, Cindy Costner, played "Snow White" for Disneyland.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [1990]
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World. [1991]
He turned down the leading role in WarGames (1983), which was played by Matthew Broderick, to play Alex Marshall in The Big Chill (1983). His role was later deleted.
Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38. [1986]
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#87). [1995]
The lead role in Air Force One (1997) was written for him but he was still heavily involved in filming The Postman (1997) and suggested the part be given to Harrison Ford).
His frontal nude scene in For Love of the Game (1999) was reportedly deleted after being met with laughter at test screenings.
His character in Dragonfly (2002) was written with the intention of Harrison Ford taking the film role. Ford turned down the role to take a year off from movies.
Costner and Ford's casting choices have crossed paths many times before. Harrison Ford turned down the Jack Ryan role in The Hunt for Red October (1990) as did Kevin Costner. Harrison Ford instead made Presumed Innocent (1990) and Kevin Costner made his Oscar-winning Dances with Wolves (1990). The Jack Ryan role went to then character actor Alec Baldwin.
Harrison Ford later turned down the role of Jim Garrison in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). Kevin Costner decided to take the role after a meeting with the director Stone.
The President of the United States role in the mega-blockbuster Air Force One (1997) was written specifically for Kevin Costner. In fact, Kevin Costner helped develop the action film with Beacon Communications and writer Andrew W. Marlowe in 1996. But Kevin had to eventually pass on the film because of work delays with his futuristic The Postman (1997). Costner called up Harrison Ford personally and offered Harrison a once-in-a-lifetime role. Harrison Ford accepted the role and has always thanked Kevin Costner in interviews for his kind gesture. Air Force One (1997) went on to become one of the highest grossing films of all time.
Personal Quotes
Real heroes are men who fall and fail and are flawed, but win out in the end because they've stayed true to their ideals and beliefs and commitments. -- Interview with David Giammarco, Cigar Aficionado Magazine, Nov/Dec 2000.
I'm happy about the things I've done. Not always happy about the results, but happy about the decisions, because I made them myself. And I think that's an important way to go through life. -- Interview with David Giammarco, Cigar Aficionado Magazine, Nov/Dec. 2000.
[on Dances with Wolves (1990)] "This is a bonding film for all. You could put it anywhere in history--the Berlin Wall, Kuwait".
My first introduction to English football was in 1990 when I was over here making Robin Hood and I got invited to an Arsenal game. Having watched sports all my life in America, there was no comparison in terms of the emotion that was in the stadium that day. And I really never forgot it. - on being an Arsenal fan.
I'm really aware of my disappointments, what movies I didn't like when I was done. I'm not so sure they line up with public or critical disappointments. But if I have to reduce my life to the box office, I can see what the up-and-down thing is. Popularity now is cultural achievement. If you can be popular, you actually can make a living out of being popular. It's not my way. Other actors might have made "Bull Durham 2","Tin Cup 2","Dances 2" and "Bodyguard 2". But I don't think repeating yourself is very good.
[on gaining weight for The Upside of Anger (2005)] I put on 20 pounds for the film. I drank whole milk with sugar, bananas and ice cream. And chocolate and cookies.
[on going bald] I'm not into plugs, rugs or drugs to correct this problem and would rather just shave it off.
I registered as a Republican when I was twenty-one. My parents were Republicans. But as I've gotten older I've questioned my whole conservative background... I think you should be fair about how you treat people.
[on the Iraq war] I don't want to turn my back on that [Bush] family. They've been gracious to me. We're supposed to evolve from frontier justice. I think that the old west mythology is a good thing to have in your spine. But it shouldn't operate your brain. It's nice to know that you are willing to fight, but it's good to know how smart you are about not fighting.
The fact that I was 5 foot 2 as a sophomore didn't help. I'm 6 foot 1 now but still relate to those feelings. I didn't date in high school and didn't get my growth until college. I never got over being short.
[on Death of a President (2006)] It's awfully hard if you're his children, his wife, his mother, his dad; there's a certain thing we can't lose as human beings, which is empathy for maybe the hardest job in the world. Whether we think it's being performed right or not we can't, like, wish... or think that's even cute.
I don't mind Hollywood. After all, I don't make movies that are like avant garde or not understandable. I just like to make a mainstream movie with all the edges that existed in the writing and I don't like to see it flattened out in order to cater to audiences. I don't really give a shit what people think about my movie after watching it and giving it a test score, but I really care about what you think about it when you see it in its purity, because I don't feel like I'm going to lose you. I don't feel like my movies are going to be for everyone because they're not, because sometimes they're more adult and that eliminates kids.
I'm a hunter, I hunt but I think there should be gun laws. I think there should be a lot of gun laws. I don't want to lose my shotgun but there's a real good reason why I use my shotgun. It came from my grandpa. His cheek was on it. My dad's cheek was on it and I go out and hunt with my dogs. My gun's an heirloom to me and my son, one day, when I'm gone, is gonna know, "Your dad hunted with that." But even though with the connection that I have to my gun, can I look at the NRA and say, "I think you're out of line?". I can say that.
