One of Hollywood's most prominent
strong, silent types, Kevin Costner was for several years the celluloid
personification of the baseball industry. The actor made an indelible
mark with baseball-themed hits like Bull Durham and Field of Dreams, as
well as his epic Western Dances with Wolves. Although several flops in
the late '90s diminished his bankability, for many the actor remained
one of the industry's most enduring icons.
A native of California, Costner was born January
18, 1955, in Lynnwood. While a marketing student at California State University
in Fullerton, he became involved with community theater. Upon graduation
in 1978, Costner took a marketing job that lasted all of 30 days before
deciding to take a crack at acting. After an inauspicious 1974 film debut
in the ultra-cheapie Sizzle Beach USA, Costner decided to take a more
serious approach to acting. Venturing down the usual theater-workshop,
multiple-audition route, the actor impressed casting directors who weren't
really certain of how to use him. That may be one reason why Costner's
big-studio debut in Night Shift (1982) consisted of little more than background
decoration, and the subsequent Frances (1982) featured the hapless young
actor as an off-stage voice.
Director Lawrence Kasdan liked Costner enough to
cast him in the important role of the suicide victim who motivated the
plot of The Big Chill (1983). Unfortunately, all that was visible of the
actor -- who had turned down Matthew Broderick's role in WarGames to take
the part -- was part of his dress suit, along with a fleeting glimpse
of his hairline and hands as the undertaker prepared him for burial during
the opening credits. Two years later, a guilt-ridden Kasdan chose Costner
for a major part as a hell-raising gunfighter in the "retro"
western Silverado (1985), this time putting him in front of the camera
for virtually the entire film. The actor's big break came two years later
as he burst on the screen in two major films, No Way Out and The Untouchables;
his growing popularity was further amplified with a brace of baseball
films, released within months of one another. In Bull Durham (1988), the
actor was taciturn minor-league ballplayer Crash Davis, and in the following
year's Field of Dreams he was Ray Kinsella, a farmer who constructs a
baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfield at the repeated urging of a voice
that intones "If you build it, he will come."
Riding high on the combined box-office success
of these films, Costner was able to make his directing debut. With a minuscule
budget of 18 million dollars, he went off to the Black Hills of South
Dakota to film the first Western epic that Hollywood had seen in years,
a revisionist look at American Indian-White relationships titled Dances
With Wolves (1990). Detractors had a field day with this supposedly doomed
project, labeling the film "Costner's Folly" and "Kevin's
Gate." But the film, in addition to being one of 1990's biggest moneymakers,
also took home a slew of Academy Awards, including statues for Best Picture
and Best Director.
Costner's luck continued with the 1991 costume
epic Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves; this, too, made money, though it seriously
strained Costner's longtime friendship with the film's director, the notoriously
erratic Kevin Reynolds. The same year, Costner had another hit on his
hands with Oliver Stone's JFK. The next year's The Bodyguard, a film which
teamed Costner with Whitney Houston, did so well at the box-office that
it seemed the actor could do no wrong. However, his next film, A Perfect
World (1993), directed by Clint Eastwood and casting the actor against
type as a half-psycho, half-benign prison escapee, was a major disappointment,
even though Costner himself came through with a strong performance. More
bad luck followed Perfect World in the form of another cast-against-type
failure, the 1994 Western Wyatt Earp, which proved that even director
Lawrence Kasdan could have his off days.
Adding insult to injury, Costner's 1995 epic sci-fi
adventure Waterworld received an enormous amount of negative publicity
prior to opening due to its ballooning budget and bloated schedule, and
cemented industry misgivings by failing colossally at the box office.
The following year, Costner was able to rebound somewhat with the romantic
comedy Tin Cup, which was well-received by the critics and the public
alike. Unfortunately, he chose to followed this up with another directorial
effort, an epic filmization of author David Brin's The Postman. The 1997
film featured Costner as a Shakespeare-spouting drifter in a post-nuclear
holocaust America whose efforts to reunite the country give him messianic
qualities. Like Waterworld, The Postman (waggishly dubbed "Dryworld"
by critics) received a critical drubbing and did poorly with audiences.
Costner's reputation, now at an all-time low, received some resuscitation
with the 1998 romantic drama Message in a Bottle, and later the same year
he returned to the genre that loved him best with Sam Raimi's baseball
drama For Love of the Game. A thoughtful reflection on the Cuban missile
crisis provided the groundwork for the successful Thirteen Days (2000),
though Costner's next turn as a member of a group of Elvis impersonating
casino bandits drew harsh criticism for its pointless and excessive violence,
relegating it to a quick death at the box office. Though Costner's next
effort was a more sentimental supernatural drama lamenting lost love,
Dragonfly (2002) was dismissed by many as a cheap clone of The Sixth Sense
and met an almost equally hasty, though notably less outright despised
fate.
us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Costner, Kevin http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Costner, Kevin
Kevin Costner Image Gallery, Pictures, Pics, Photos, Photo Gallery, Cards Galleries, Profile, Biography, ... Kevin Costner Profile, Biography, Credits, Image Gallery, Photo Gallery, Cards Gallery, Pics, Photos, Pictures Awards, at CelebWeLove.com ... Kevin Costner pictures, picture gallery, celebrity greeting cards, photos, pics, snaps ... University inFullerton, American actor Kevin Costner became involvedwith community theatre ... www.celebwelove.com/Kevin_Costner
Japander.com These two ads (at right) aired in 2001 shortly after the Brad Pitt Roots ads stopped appearing. Oscar Winner! ... Oscar Winner! Coffee and Costner. Canned coffee, canned performance ... Who will he replace next? Costner is one of several people who have dropped off the Japanese advertising airwaves ... www.japander.com/japander/costner.htm
Kevin Costner Tribute.ca movie showtimes and listings for all theatres and cinemas in Canada, movie times, previews, ratings, trailers, contests, film passes, star bios. ... KEVIN COSTNER. Date of Birth: January 18, 1955. Kevin Costner seemed destined to be in the movies ... www.tribute.ca/bio.asp?id=3061
I Believe... Fan tribute to Kevin Costner. Features image gallery, wallpaper, and DVD grabs. ibelieve.dl-dreams.com
E! Online: Q&A With Kevin Costner Going postal, countering criticism and soaking in Waterworld with the (slightly) faded star. www.eonline.com/Hot/Qa/Costner/?de
Kevin Costner Kevin Costner - movies, photos, video, biography, interviews, awards, news, filmography, credits ... Home Celebs Celeb Detail : Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner. Sometimes Credited As: Kevin Michael Costner ... never-seen suicide). Kasdan repaid Kevin Costner by casting him as flashy cowboy ... www.hollywood.com/celebs/detail/celeb/194698
Kevin Costner Dances with Bride - Sep 27, 2004 - E! Online News 04.15.2006. Kevin Costner Dances with Bride. by Sarah Hall. Sep 27, 2004, 11:15 AM PT. Kevin Costner and fiancée Christine Baumgartner went the distance over the weekend. www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,15021,00.html
KEVIN COSTNER at THESPIAN NET Kevin Costner at Thespian Net ... - AutographsForSale. - ContactAnyCeleb. KEVIN COSTNER. January 18, 1955 ... While a marketing student at California State University Kevin Costner became involved with community theatre ... www.thespiannet.com/actors/C/costner_kevin/index.shtml
Fandango Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $9.98
Waterworld Mini Poster 13 x 20 in Sale Price: : $4.98
Dances with Wolves Art Print 28 x 39 in Sale Price: : $41.99
Open Range Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $18.98
Open Range - Costner Poster 27 x 40 in Sale Price: : $12.48
The Postman Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $9.98
Kevin Costner Photo 10 x 8 in Sale Price: : $5.99
Kevin Costner Photo 11 x 14 in Sale Price: : $14.99
Kevin Costner Photo 16 x 20 in Sale Price: : $19.99
Kevin Costner Photo 16 x 20 in Sale Price: : $19.99
Kevin Costner Photo 16 x 20 in Sale Price: : $19.99
Robin Hood: Prince of ... Poster 27 x 39 in Sale Price: : $13.48
Wyatt Earp Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $9.98
Dances with Wolves Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $14.98
Wyatt Earp Double-sided poster 27 x 40 in Sale Price: : $26.98
Dances with Wolves Poster 27 x 39 in Sale Price: : $11.98
The Bodyguard Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $18.98
Robin Hood: Prince of ... Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $17.98
Thirteen Days Original Poster 27 x 40 in Sale Price: : $12.48
Silverado Mini Poster 11 x 17 in Sale Price: : $18.98
Click Thumbnail Images To Find Out About Kevin Costner Posters!
Rumor Has It... (Widescreen Edition) Sale Price: $16.96
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Sale Price: $13.99
Bull Durham Sale Price: $9.99
500 Nations Sale Price: $53.99
Wyatt Earp (Two-Disc Special Edition) Sale Price: $13.47
JFK (Director´s Cut Two-Disc Special Edition) Sale Price: $23.99
The Untouchables (Special Collector´s Edition) Sale Price: $10.99
Waterworld Sale Price: $7.99
The Bodyguard (Special Edition) Sale Price: $17.99
For Love of the Game Sale Price: $7.99
Click Thumbnail Images To Find Out About Kevin Costner DVDs!
Upside of Anger Sale Price: $45.68
Click Thumbnail Images To Find Out About Kevin Costner VHS Videos!
Dances With Wolves: The Illustrated Story of the ... Sale Price: $18.87
Dances With Wolves: The Illustrated Screenplay a ... Sale Price: $4.95
Celebrity Fish Talk: Tales of Fishing from an Al ... Sale Price: $13.57
Kevin Costner: Prince of Hollywood Sale Price: $9.72
[Pantalla grande].(TT: Big screen.)(Reseña) : An ... Sale Price: $5.95
Diego Luna, en la mira de Hollywood: filmó con K ... Sale Price: $5.95
Trece días romántica visión de la crisis de lo ... Sale Price: $5.95
Click Thumbnail Images To Find Out About Kevin Costner Books!
The Big Chill - 15th Anniversary: Original Motio ... Sale Price: $10.97
The Big Chill: More Songs From The Original Soun ... Sale Price: $9.98
John Barry Moviola (Film Score Re-recording Comp ... Sale Price: $7.97
Click Thumbnail Images To Find Out About Kevin Costner CDs!
![[Pantalla grande].(TT: Big screen.)(Reseña) : An ...](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0008F2IVG.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg)
![Voting Results](javascript:results1("0000126",0,500,300,"Star Rating For Kevin Costner","http://www.mystarlinks.com/images/goldbar.jpg")){kind=link}