Kevin Costner

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Kevin Costner

Costner while visiting Andrews Air Force Base in 2006
Born Kevin Michael Costner
January 18, 1955 (1955-01-18) (age 53)
Lynwood, California
Years active 1982-present

Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer and Academy Award-winning director. He is well-known for his role as Lt. John J. Dunbar in the film Dances with Wolves (1990), which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Costner was born in Compton, California, the youngest of the three sons (the middle of whom died at birth) of Sharon Rae (née Tedrick), a welfare worker, and William Costner, an electrician and later utilities executive.[1][2] He has German, Irish and Cherokee ancestry (his Oklahoma-born paternal grandfather was half Cherokee).[3][4][5] Costner was raised Baptist.[6] He attended elementary school at McKevette School in Santa Paula, California, Cabrillo Jr. High School and Buena High in Ventura, California. A poor student, Costner enjoyed sports in spite of his slight stature, and took piano lessons, wrote poetry and sang in the First Baptist Choir.[1]

Spending his teenage years in various parts of California as his father's career progressed, Costner lived in Orange County, then in Visalia (Tulare County) attending Mt. Whitney High School, and finally graduated from Villa Park High School in Villa Park, California in 1973. He went on to earn a B.A. in business from California State University, Fullerton in 1978, where he was a member and President of the Delta Chi Fraternity and met bride-to-be Cindy Silva.

[edit] Post-graduation

Costner became interested in acting while in college, and on graduation married Cindy. The couple honeymooned in Puerto Vallarta, and on the return plane journey had a chance encounter with actor and fellow passenger Richard Burton, and struck up a conversation.[1] Burton advised the young man that if he wanted to pursue acting, he should give up everything else completely and go after it.

Having agreed to undertake a job as a marketing executive on return, with the support of his wife Costner began taking acting lessons five nights a week. His marketing job lasted 30 days. He took work which allowed him to develop his acting skills via tuition, including working on fishing boats, as a truck driver, and giving tours of stars' Hollywood homes to support the couple while he also made the audition rounds.[1]

[edit] Career

Costner made his film debut at age 19, in the 1974 film, Sizzle Beach, U.S.A., although the film was not released until 1986 after he became a star.

He appeared in a commercial for the Apple Lisa in 1983, and in the same year, had a small role in the nuclear holocaust film Testament. Later, he was cast in The Big Chill and filmed several scenes that were planned as flashbacks, but they never made it to the final cut. His role was that of Alex, the friend who committed suicide, the event that brings the rest of the cast together. All that is seen of him are his slashed wrists as the mortician dresses his corpse in the movie's opening scenes.[7] Costner was a friend of director Lawrence Kasdan, who promised the actor a role in a future project. That became 1985's Silverado and a breakout role for Costner. He also starred that year in the smaller films Fandango and American Flyers.

Full-blown movie star status for Costner arrived in 1987 when he starred as Eliot Ness in The Untouchables and in the leading role of the thriller No Way Out. He solidified his A-list status in the baseball-themed films Bull Durham and Field of Dreams.

Costner's greatest success came with the epic Dances with Wolves (1990). He directed and starred in the film and served as one of its producers. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven, including two for him personally (Best Picture and Best Director).

He followed this with Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991), the Oliver Stone-directed JFK (1991), The Bodyguard (1992) and Clint Eastwood's A Perfect World (1993), all of which provided huge box office or critical acclaim.

He then took the title role in the biopic Wyatt Earp (1994), directed by Kasdan. It fizzled at the summer 1994 box office. The science fiction epics Waterworld (1995) and The Postman (1997), the latter of which Costner also directed, also were both major commercial disappointments.

Costner then starred in the golf comedy Tin Cup (1996) for Ron Shelton, who had previously directed him in "Bull Durham." The actor developed the film Air Force One and was set to play the lead role of the President, but ultimately decided to concentrate on finishing The Postman instead. He personally offered the project to Harrison Ford.


His career revived somewhat in 2000 with Thirteen Days, in which he portrayed a top adviser to John F. Kennedy. The western Open Range, which he directed and starred in, received critical acclaim in 2003, though it was only a minor success commercially.

After that, Costner starred in The Guardian and in Mr. Brooks, in which he portrayed a serial killer. Costner was honored on September 6, 2006 when his hand and foot prints were set in concrete in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre alongside those of other celebrated actors and entertainers.[7]

[edit] Personal life

While in college Costner was a member of Delta Chi fraternity.[1] He started dating fellow student Cindy Silva in March 1975, and their subsequent marriage produced three children: Annie (born in 1984), Lily (born in 1986), and Joe (born in 1988). Kevin and Cindy divorced in 1994 after 16 years of marriage. He also has a son, Liam (born in 1996), with Bridget Rooney, with whom he had a brief relationship following his divorce.[8]

On September 25, 2004, after 10 years of being single, Costner married his girlfriend of four years, the German model and handbag designer Christine Baumgartner,[9][10] at his ranch in Aspen, Colorado. Guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Oliver Stone, and Bruce Willis, were treated to activities including horseback riding and baseball during the weekend festivities. Costner took his new bride for a canoe ride on a lake following the ceremony. The couple honeymooned in Scotland.[11] Their first child, Cayden Wyatt Costner, was born on May 6, 2007 at 10:30 p.m. at a Los Angeles hospital. He weighed 7 lbs, 14 oz.[12]

Costner was registered as a Republican until the 1996 election, when he changed his registration to Independent. He supported Democratic candidates in the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 Presidential elections; however, he still prefers to be known as a "conservative".[citation needed]

Several of Costner's films have included a baseball theme. They include Chasing Dreams, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, For Love of the Game and The Upside of Anger, in which his character is a former pro baseball player. The actor plays regularly in celebrity golf tournaments, including the PGA Tour's annual pro-am at Pebble Beach, California and the BMW Pro-Am held each April in Greenville County, South Carolina.

Costner owns 93.5% of the "Midnight Star" casino in Deadwood, South Dakota. The casino, its sports bar "Diamond Lil's" and its restaurant "Jake's" are named after characters and locations from the movie Silverado and the facility contains posters, costumes, and other memorabilia from Costner's films. In July 2004, Costner fired Francis and Carla Caneva, who managed the Midnight Star. A judge subsequently order Costner to pay $6.1 million to buy out the Caneva's as his business partners. In October 2006, Costner asked the South Dakota Supreme Court to re-examine the ruling, as an accountant hired by the actor had determined the market value of the casino to be $3.1 million.[13]

Costner is a fan of the London football team Arsenal F.C. While filming Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he was given the opportunity to attend a game and has followed the team ever since. The actor was named ceremonial Grand Marshall of the Auto550 club for the February 25, 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup auto race event at the California Speedway.[14]

He has a home in Austin, Texas and sometimes appears at University of Texas baseball practices and games. Costner is a close friend to Longhorns baseball coach Augie Garrido,[15] from Garrido's days coaching at Cal State Fullerton, the actor's alma mater. He cast Garrido to play the role of "Yankee Manager" in his film For Love of the Game.[16] He tries to attend every College World Series game that Cal State Fullerton plays in Omaha, Nebraska.

He is also the singer of "Kevin Costner and Modern West," a rock/country band which he founded with the encouragement of his wife Christine. He began a worldwide tour with the band in October 2007, which included shows in Istanbul and Rome.

[edit] Controversy

On 24 April 2006, it was revealed that Costner was the mystery celebrity involved in a controversial case at a hotel at the St Andrews golf course, Scotland, owned by his friend Herbert Kohler, Jr. While on his honeymoon in October 2004, a hotel employee complained that Costner had performed a lewd act while she was attempting to massage him. She informed the hotel management but was not dismissed until the following August.[17]

Costner's former girlfriend Birgit Cunningham was one of his friends who denied the allegations.[18] However, when the case reached a Scottish employment tribunal, the tribunal chairman agreed to the release of the actor's name as it formed a basis for both parties' cases. The woman, who remains unnamed, settled out of court with the hotel under a tight confidentiality agreement.[17][19][20]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
1982 Chasing Dreams Ed
Night Shift Frat Boy #1
Struggle (short film) Joe, Policeman #2 a friends student movie
Frances Luther (Man in Alley) qualified for Screen Actor's Guild card
1983 Stacy's Knights Will Bonner
Table for Five Newlywed husband
The Big Chill Alex scenes deleted
Testament Phil Pitkin
1984 The Gunrunner Ted
1985 Fandango Gardner Barnes, Groover
Silverado Jake
American Flyers Marcus Sommers
1986 Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. John Logan originally filmed in 1974
Shadows Run Black Jimmy Scott
1987 The Untouchables Eliot Ness
No Way Out Lt. Cmdr. Tom Farrell
1988 Bull Durham Crash Davis
1989 Field of Dreams Ray Kinsella
1990 Revenge Michael 'Jay' Cochran also executive producer
Dances with Wolves Lieutenant Dunbar also director and producer
1991 Madonna: Truth or Dare Himself, uncredited documentary
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Robin of Locksley also producer
JFK Jim Garrison
1992 Amazing Stories: Book One, episode: The Mission Captain archive footage
Oliver Stone: Inside Out Himself documentary
Beyond 'JFK': The Question of Conspiracy Himself documentary
The Bodyguard (1992) Frank Farmer also producer
1993 A Perfect World Robert 'Butch' Haynes
1994 A Century of Cinema Himself documentary
Wyatt Earp Wyatt Earp also producer
The War Steven Simmons
1995 Waterworld Mariner also producer and uncredited director
1996 Tin Cup Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy
1996 Resident Evil None Uncredited live-action footage director
1997 Sean Connery, An Intimate Portrait Himself documentary
The Postman The Postman also director and producer
1999 Message in a Bottle Garret Blake also producer
For Love of the Game Billy Chapel
Play It to the Bone Ringside Fan Cameo
2000 Thirteen Days Kenny O'Donnell also producer
2001 3000 Miles to Graceland Thomas J. Murphy
Road to Graceland Murphy (voice) animated short
2002 Dragonfly Joe Darrow
2003 Open Range Charlie Waite also director and producer
2005 The Upside of Anger Denny Davies
Rumor Has It Beau Burroughs
2006 The Guardian Ben Randall
2007 Mr. Brooks Mr. Earl Brooks also producer
2008 Swing Vote Bud Johnson awaiting release
2009 The New Daughter John James filming

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  1. ^ a b c d e Todd Keith, Kevin Costner: The Unauthorized Biography, Ikonprint Publishers: Southwark, London (1991)
  2. ^ Adherents.com's Guide to Movies
  3. ^ Barnes, Harper. "Costner's Waltz With The West ... He takes the Indians' side in making his directing debut", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1990-11-18. Retrieved on 2007-12-09. 
  4. ^ Pursuing The Dream Time Magazine Jun. 26, 1989
  5. ^ Kempley, Rita. "Kevin Costner in the Land of `Wolves'; The Director: Reclaiming Boyhood Dreams", The Washington Post, 1990-11-09. Retrieved on 2007-12-09. 
  6. ^ "KEVIN COSTNER PLOWS HIS OWN `Field of Dreams'", The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution, 1989-05-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-09. 
  7. ^ a b The Big Chill at IMDB, trivia
  8. ^ People Magazine February 09, 2007
  9. ^ Kevin Costner is dad for fifth time
  10. ^ Kevin Costner Marries Girlfriend in Aspen - Marriage, Kevin Costner : People.com
  11. ^ BBC article
  12. ^ People Magazine May 7, 2007
  13. ^ Costner appeals in casino wrangle
  14. ^ Kevin Costner Named Grand Marshal
  15. ^ Actor Kevin Costner returns to CWS
  16. ^ Cinema Review production notes
  17. ^ a b The Daily Record - Exposed, 26 April 2006
  18. ^ ContactMusic.com article
  19. ^ Costner in sex shame - The Sun
  20. ^ Breaking News - Costner Named 26/04/2006

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Oliver Stone
for Born on the Fourth of July		 Academy Award for Best Director
1990
for Dances with Wolves		 Succeeded by
Jonathan Demme
for The Silence of the Lambs
v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Director

Warren Beatty (1981) · Richard Attenborough (1982) · James L. Brooks (1983) · Miloš Forman (1984) · Sydney Pollack (1985) · Oliver Stone (1986) · Bernardo Bertolucci (1987) · Barry Levinson (1988) · Oliver Stone (1989) Kevin Costner (1990) · Jonathan Demme (1991) · Clint Eastwood (1992) · Steven Spielberg (1993) · Robert Zemeckis (1994) · Mel Gibson (1995) · Anthony Minghella (1996) · James Cameron (1997) · Steven Spielberg (1998) · Sam Mendes (1999) · Steven Soderbergh (2000)

Complete List · (1927–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)


Persondata
NAME Costner, Kevin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Costner, Kevin Michael
SHORT DESCRIPTION American film actor and director
DATE OF BIRTH 18 January 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Lynwood, California
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH