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Saturday, October 31, 2009

All About : Kevin Costner

All About : Kevin Costner. Kevin was born in Lynwood, California, on January 18, 1955, the third child of Bill Costner, a ditch digger and ultimately an electric line servicer for Southern California Edison, and Sharon Costner. His father, Bill, was a ditch-digger who was later to service electricity lines for Edison of Southern California. His mother, Sharon, bore two other boys - Dan, who was born in 1950, and another who died at birth three years later

Bill's work made family life somewhat nomadic and, denied a settled upbringing, Kevin became a dreamer, writing poetry. He also possessed a great interest in and affection for American history and the natural wilderness, which would later bring about Dances With Wolves, and which saw him, at 18, construct his own canoe and follow Lewis and Clark's river-route out to the Pacific. His Dad'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.

Kevin 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, who had purchased all the seats around him for solitude. Burton agreed to speak to Costner after he finished his book. Costner, who had been taking acting classes, but had not told his wife about his desire to be an actor, watched Burton closely and approached when Burton gestured him to. Costner told Burton that he would prefer that his life was not filled with the type of drama that had followed Burton and asked if he would have to tolerate that if he became an actor. Burton replied, "You have green eyes. I have green eyes. I think you'll be fine." After landing, Burton's limousine pulled up to the curb where Costner and Cindy were waiting for a taxi, where Burton wished Costner luck. Costner would never see Burton again, but credits Burton with partially contributing to his career.

Having agreed to undertake a job as a marketing executive on return, Costner began taking acting lessons five nights a week, with the support of his wife. 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.

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.

Costner made a very brief cameo in the 1982 Ron Howard film Night Shift, he is listed in the credits as 'Frat Boy #2' and appears at the climax of a Frat-style blow-out party in the N.Y.C. morgue, when the music is suddenly stopped by a frantic Henry Winkler, Costner can be seen holding a beer and looking surprised at the sudden halt of celebration.

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. 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 federal agent 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). Revenge (1990), in which he starred along with Anthony Quinn and Madeleine Stowe, directed by Tony Scott (Costner had wanted to direct it himself), was another notable film from the same year.

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, were both major commercial disappointments and are both largely regarded by critics as artistic failures. (Waterworld in particular has made several critics' "Worst Movies of All Time" lists.)

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. In 2008, Costner starred in Swing Vote. 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.

Kevin Costner Relationships:
* Annie Costner - Daughter
* Bill Costner - Father
* Cayden Wyatt Costner - Son
* Christine Baumgartner - Wife
* Cindy Silva - Ex-wife
* Dan Costner - Brother
* Hayes Logan Costner - Son
* Joe Costner - Son
* Liam - Son
* Lily Costner - Daughter
* Sharon Costner - Mother

Kevin Costner Awards:
* 1990 Oscar: Best Achievement in Directing - Winner
* 1990 Oscar: Best Motion Picture of the Year - Winner
* 1990 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role - Nominee
* 1993 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Motion Picture Actor - Winner
* 1993 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture - Winner
* 1992 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Actor in a Dramatic Motion Picture - Winner
* 1991 Golden Globe: Best Director - Motion Picture - Winner
* 1991 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
* 1992 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
* 1997 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee

College:
* California State University, Fullerton, CA (BA in Marketing, 1978)

2 comments:

  1. oh goshhhh! I admired keven costner so much. I am so glad you share this here. Thank you. have a fun weekend.

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