Kevin Costner knows his audience.
The Oscar-winning actor, 69, recently acknowledged that he’s aware his movies tend to appeal more to men, but he emphasizes the necessity of “strong women,” alongside the cast of his new film, “Horizon: An American Saga.”
“I make movies for men. That’s what I do,” Costner remarked on the June 27 episode of “Happy Sad Confused.”
“But I won’t make a movie unless I have strong women characters, and that’s how I’ve conducted my career. I think that’s why I have a good following,” he added. “I thank you women for dragging your men here — it was a Western after all. I just can’t conceive of a movie without having [strong women].”
Costner’s latest project features a robust female cast, including Sienna Miller, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee and more.
Costner, who serves as the writer, director, producer and star of the film, said he “couldn’t conceive of a scene that didn’t involve a woman” when he was writing the film’s script alongside Jon Baird.
He went on to emphasize why women are so important to the story of “Horizon” on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on June 24.
“This has a tremendous amount of women in it,” Costner said at the time. “They play such a big part of the West and what happened. They were often taken out there against their will and with their children on the idea that there was something great out there. There was nothing out there except a group of people who lived there for thousands of years.”
He continued: “Women were drug into the most terrible of circumstances and made it work. And somehow they don’t find themselves in Westerns and in ‘Horizon’ they dominate.”
Costner has a history of collaborating with strong female leads, notably working with Whitney Houston in 1992’s “The Bodyguard.” Even 30 years later, Costner speaks highly of the late musician after working with her.
“She’s really smart. That was a movie I probably should have directed. I just thought somebody could do a better job. But he was uncomfortable with her,” he said of Houston and director Mick Johnson on the “Armchair Expert” podcast on June 3. “She was my choice. So I was the actor. I produced it. I picked her.”
Additionally, Costner confirmed that a sequel to “The Bodyguard” was in the works with Princess Diana as his co-star at the time.
“What had happened was, I started talking to her through Sarah [Ferguson], and I said, ‘Look, I’m gonna do ‘Bodyguard 2′ and I think I can build this around you. Would you be interested?’” he recalled on the June 18 episode of “The Howard Stern Show.”
“And she goes, ‘Yes. My life’s about to change.’ I didn’t really go into depth with it, but I thought I understood what she was saying,” he added.
Diana’s tragic death in August 1997 at the age of 36 led to the cancellation of the film.
“I could not replace Princess Di,” he said. “Kind of like, if I couldn’t have done Bodyguard with Whitney, I don’t think I was gonna make it with anybody.”
After announcing his official departure from “Yellowstone” on June 20, Costner is now focused on his Western film “Horizon: An American Saga.”
“Thinking about Yellowstone, that beloved series that I love, that I know you love. I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue, Season 5 or into the future,” the actor remarked.
Costner said his leave was “required” after the “long year and a half of working on ‘Horizon’ and doing all the things.” However, rumors of friction between Costner and the show’s creator, Taylor Sheridan, have circulated since rumors of the actor’s exit, which began in May 2023.
On the June 27 episode of CBS Mornings, Gayle King pushed the actor to his limits with probing questions on his official “Yellowstone” departure. She asked if “Horizon” caused problems for him on the show and if there was a clash of egos between him and Sheridan.
Costner responded, “I love the show.”
“I loved the show before anybody. It was Taylor and myself. The truth never changes — that love was really strong. The idea of going back — I would do that in a second if I felt that it was… If it was something that I could do, wanted to do, I would make it fit,” he added.
Despite Costner’s clear avoidance of the question, the veteran journalist pushed on why he and Sheridan haven’t been “able to work it out.”
“But the characterization of you isn’t necessarily flattering,” King told him. “You made demands, you want to have a certain schedule, you want to shoot at a certain time, you want certain money.”
King added: “If it’s not that hard, why can’t the two of you be able to work it out? People would love to see that.”
“This isn’t therapy, Gayle. I mean, we’re not gonna discuss this on the show,” Costner replied.
King insisted that she’s “a good therapist,” but Costner reiterated he has conducted his life “in a pretty straightforward way” and has “never missed any obligations” throughout his whole career.
Sheridan, 54, made comments on his and Costner’s relationship last year, admitting he was disappointed over Costner’s departure.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in June 2023, Sheridan said, ”My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered.”
“His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” he went on. “But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it.”
Sheridan also commented on Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga.”
“His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one,” Sheridan said.
The first half of “Yellowstone” Season 5 aired between November 2022 and January 2023. The final six episodes are shooting now and are scheduled to debut on November 10.
“Horizon: An American Saga” is in theaters now.
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