Actor Kevin Costner has been known for his portrayal of John Dutton in the neo-western TV show Yellowstone. The actor, who won the Golden Globe for Best Performance By An Actor in a Television Series – Drama for Yellowstone will be exiting the show to concentrate on his magnum opus four-part Western drama Horizon – An American Saga.
The two-time Academy Winner has had an interesting career filled with huge ups and downs. While he has tasted amazing success, he has also faced utter humiliation. One such incident was with legendary director John Huston.
The Rise And Fall Of Kevin Costner
Before the actor revived his career as the patriarch of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch, Kevin Costner had a very fluctuating filmography. The acclaimed actor-director started pursuing acting after he met legendary actor Richard Burton on a flight. He credits Burton for inspiring him to take up acting.
While Costner started taking up acting classes, he also worked in a variety of jobs as a sailor, a tour guide, and a truck driver. He finally got his breakthrough role in the film Silverado. The Western was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, with whom Costner would go on to have a long working relationship.
Kevin Costner got his career-defining role in the crime film The Untouchables. Directed by Brian De Palma, the film starred Costner as real-life agent Eliot Ness who formed a team to capture Al Capone, played by Robert DeNiro. The film earned over $106 million at the box office and put Kevin Costner on the map.
Costner then produced, starred in, and directed the Western Dances with Wolves. The film earned over 12 nominations at the Oscars, winning Costner two Academy Awards, one for Best Picture and one for Best Director. After a series of hits, the actor faced multiple failures in the form of the epic disaster Waterworld and his directorial The Postman. The latter was considered to be one of Costner’s biggest artistic failures. The actor saw a resurgence only in the 2010s and then recently by starring in Yellowstone.
Kevin Costner’s Humiliating Moment With John Huston
Director Tony Scott’s romantic action film Revenge saw Kevin Costner play Jay Cochran, who is at odds with crime boss Tibey Mandez after falling in love with his young wife Miryea. Based on a novella by Jim Harrison, the film was a bomb at the box office, earning only $15 million against a $22 million budget.
However, director Tony Scott was not the first choice for the director. The film was in development hell for years, with Jack Nicholson once attached to star in it with legendary director John Huston directing. Citizen Kane director Orison Welles was also attached to direct at some point. Kevin Costner expressed interest in making the film and then got attached to it as an executive producer and agreed to star in it.
While searching for the right director, Costner approached John Huston to see if he was still interested in the project. However, the Maltese Falcon director allegedly humiliated Costner and rejected his proposal. Describing the incident in the book The Hustons, author Lawrence Grobel mentioned that after hearing the pitch, Huston just whistled at a sculpture in the hotel they met and said to the producer,
“I’m an ill man and I don’t know how you could do this to me. I’ve been in this business 50-odd years and you are telling me that I’ve got to work with this little guy?”
John Huston was known to be difficult by the end of his life, which was plagued by his cancer diagnosis. However, the director seemed to have dodged a bullet as Revenge flopped at the box office.
Source: The Digital Fix
