American actor, director, and producer Kevin Costner started his acting career in 1981 by starring in the romantic comedy independent film Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. He went on to appear in the films Testament (1983), and Shadows Run Black (1984) before co-starring in the 1985 ensemble western film Silverado alongside Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover. The same year, he starred in the comedy film Fandango with Judd Nelson, as well as American Flyers with David Marshall Grant. In 1987, Costner starred as Eliot Ness in the crime film The Untouchables with Robert De Niro and Sean Connery. The following year, he starred as Crash Davis in the romantic comedy sports film Bull Durham with Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. The film is on AFI's 10 Top 10 for Greatest Sports Movies.[1] Costner then starred in the sports fantasy drama film Field of Dreams with James Earl Jones. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, and was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Score and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2] [3] It is also on AFI's 10 Top 10 for Greatest Fantasy Movies.
In the 1990s, Costner starred in numerous films including the 1990 epic Western film Dances with Wolves as Lieutenant John J. Dunbar, which he also directed and produced. The film received 12 Academy Awards nominations with Costner winning Best Picture, Best Director and was nominated for Best Actor.[4] He also starred as Robin Hood in with Morgan Freeman (1991), The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston (1992), Wyatt Earp with Dennis Quaid (1994), Tin Cup with Rene Russo (1996), The Postman with Will Patton (1997), Message in a Bottle with Robin Wright (1999) and For Love of the Game with Kelly Preston (also 1999). In the 2000s, he co-starred in the heist black action comedy film 3000 Miles to Graceland with Kurt Russell (2001), the Revisionist Western film Open Range with Robert Duvall (2003), Rob Reiner's romantic comedy film Rumor Has It with Jennifer Aniston (2005), psychological thriller film Mr. Brooks with Demi Moore (2007), and the comedy-drama film Swing Vote with Kelsey Grammer (2008).
He was cast as Jonathan Kent in Zack Snyder's 2013 superhero film Man of Steel, based on the DC Comics character Superman. In 2014, he co-starred in the films with Chris Pine, 3 Days to Kill with Amber Heard, and Draft Day with Jennifer Garner. For his role in the 2016 biographical drama film Hidden Figures, Costner and the cast won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.[5] He played Jessica Chastain's father in the 2017 biographical crime drama film Molly's Game and he portrayed lawman and Texas Ranger Frank Hamer in the 2019 period crime thriller film The Highwaymen opposite Woody Harrelson. In 2024, he directed the Westerns .[6] [7]
Costner's television work includes playing Devil Anse Hatfield in the three-part Western television miniseries Hatfields & McCoys, and from 2018 to 2023, he played John Dutton on the neo-Western drama series Yellowstone.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Sizzle Beach, U.S.A. | John Logan | ||
| 1982 | Chasing Dreams | Ed | ||
| 1982 | Night Shift | Frat Boy #1 | ||
| 1982 | Frances | Luther Adler | ||
| 1983 | Stacy's Knights | Will Bonner | ||
| 1983 | Table for Five | Newlywed Husband | ||
| 1983 | Testament | Phil Pitkin | ||
| 1983 | The Big Chill | Alex Marshall | Uncredited | |
| 1984 | Shadows Run Black | Jimmy Scott | ||
| 1985 | Fandango | Gardner Barnes | ||
| 1985 | Silverado | Jake | ||
| 1985 | American Flyers | Marcus Sommers | ||
| 1987 | The Untouchables | Treasury Agent Eliot Ness | ||
| 1987 | No Way Out | Lieutenant Commander Tom Farrell | ||
| 1988 | Bull Durham | Crash Davis | ||
| 1989 | Field of Dreams | Ray Kinsella | ||
| 1989 | The Gunrunner | Ted Beaubien | ||
| 1990 | Revenge | Michael "Jay" Cochran | Also producer | |
| 1990 | Dances with Wolves | Lieutenant John J. Dunbar | Also director and producer | |
| 1991 | Robin Hood | Also producer | ||
| 1991 | JFK | District Attorney Jim Garrison | ||
| 1992 | The Bodyguard | Frank Farmer | Also producer | |
| 1993 | A Perfect World | Robert "Butch" Haynes | ||
| 1994 | A Century of Cinema | Himself | ||
| 1994 | Wyatt Earp | Wyatt Earp | Also producer | |
| 1994 | The War | Stephen Simmons | ||
| 1995 | Waterworld | Mariner | Also producer | |
| 1996 | Tin Cup | Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy | ||
| 1997 | Sean Connery: An Intimate Portrait | Himself | ||
| 1997 | The Postman | The Postman | Also director and producer | |
| 1999 | Message in a Bottle | Garret Blake | Also producer | |
| 1999 | For Love of the Game | Billy Chapel | ||
| 1999 | Play It to the Bone | Ringside Fan | ||
| 2000 | Thirteen Days | Kenny O'Donnell | Also producer | |
| 2001 | 3000 Miles to Graceland | Thomas J. Murphy | ||
| 2002 | Dragonfly | Joe Darrow | ||
| 2003 | Open Range | Charley Waite / Charles Travis Postelwaite | Also director and producer | |
| 2005 | The Upside of Anger | Denny Davies | ||
| 2005 | Rumor Has It | Beau Burroughs | ||
| 2006 | The Guardian | Ben Randall | ||
| 2007 | Mr. Brooks | Mr. Earl Brooks | Also producer | |
| 2008 | Swing Vote | Bud Johnson | Also producer | |
| 2009 | The New Daughter | John James | ||
| 2010 | The Company Men | Jack Dolan | ||
| 2013 | Man of Steel | Jonathan Kent | ||
| 2014 | U.S. Navy Commander Thomas Harper | |||
| 2014 | 3 Days to Kill | Ethan Renner | ||
| 2014 | Draft Day | Sonny Weaver Jr. | ||
| 2014 | The Man Who Saved the World | Himself | ||
| 2014 | Black or White | Elliot Anderson | Also producer | |
| 2015 | McFarland, USA | Coach Jim White | ||
| 2016 | Jonathan Kent | |||
| 2016 | Criminal | Jericho Stewart | ||
| 2016 | Hidden Figures | Al Harrison | ||
| 2017 | Molly's Game | Larry Bloom | ||
| 2019 | The Highwaymen | Frank Hamer | ||
| 2019 | The Art of Racing in the Rain | Enzo (voice) | ||
| 2020 | Let Him Go | George Blackledge | Also producer | |
| 2021 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | Jonathan Kent | ||
| 2024 | Hayes Ellison | Also director, producer and writer | [8] | |
| 2024 | Also director, producer and writer; post-production | |||
| TBA | Also director, producer and writer; filming | [9] | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | Captain | Episode: "The Mission" | ||
| 1990 | The Earth Day Special | Bartender | Special | ||
| 1992 | Himself | Television film | |||
| 1995 | 500 Nations | Presenter & Host | 8-part documentary | ||
| 2012 | Hatfields & McCoys | Devil Anse Hatfield | Miniseries; also producer | ||
| 2018–2023 | Yellowstone | John Dutton | Main role; also executive producer |
| Title | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Revenge | Executive producer | ||
| 1990 | Dances with Wolves | |||
| 1991 | Uncredited producer | |||
| 1992 | The Bodyguard | |||
| 1994 | Rapa Nui | |||
| 1994 | Wyatt Earp | |||
| 1995 | Waterworld | |||
| 1997 | The Postman | |||
| 1999 | Message in a Bottle | |||
| 2000 | Thirteen Days | |||
| 2003 | Open Range | |||
| 2007 | Mr. Brooks | |||
| 2008 | Swing Vote | |||
| 2012 | Hatfields & McCoys | |||
| 2014 | Black or White | |||
| 2018 | Yellowstone | Executive producer | ||
| 2020 | Let Him Go | Executive producer | [10] | |
| 2024 | ||||
| 2024 | Post-production | |||
| TBA | Post-production |