Costner's character, the rugged Montana patriarch John Dutton, was found lifeless, allegedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a plot twist that left fans of the show seething. They accused Taylor Sheridan, the show's creator and executive producer, of spitefully portraying Costner's character as suicidal, following Costner's decision to leave the series halfway through its final season.
As reported by The New York Post, this incident is just one of the many blows Costner has had to endure in 2024. The year saw him finalize a divorce from his second wife, Christine Baumgartner, exit the TV series he helped create, and witness his self-financed, four-part $100m passion project, "Horizon," fail both critically and at the box office. Despite these setbacks, those close to Costner maintain that he remains unfazed, having weathered similar storms in the past. Baumgartner's divorce filing reveals that Costner's net worth stands at a staggering $400m.
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A longtime friend of Costner, who recently dined with him, shared with The Post, "Kevin's awesome. I've known him for years. I just saw him and he was in great spirits. He didn't talk at all about how his projects are doing. He makes so much money through his investment decisions. He's not sitting around and worrying about how his shows or movies are performing at the box office. He just cares that their quality is good."
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Costner's personal life has also been a subject of gossip since his split in 2023. He was first linked to country singer Jewel, who he insists is just a friend, and then seen getting "flirty" with Sharon Stone at the Governors Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. Despite these rumors, Costner's journey from the son of a ditch digger turned electric line serviceman for Southern California Edison to a Hollywood star is nothing short of remarkable.
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His rise to fame was not without its hurdles. His scenes were famously cut from 1983’s “The Big Chill,” which could have catapulted him to stardom. However, he finally made his breakthrough in 1988 with “Bull Durham,” where he played a minor league baseball player who tells his co-star and love interest Susan Sarandon that he believes in “long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”
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Costner's career trajectory has often been compared to the mid-90s. His 1990 film, "Dances with Wolves," won seven Oscars and revitalized the near-dormant Western genre. The film tells the story of Union Army Lt. John J. Dunbar, played by Costner, who travels to the frontier looking for a military post and finds a group of Lakota. Much of the dialogue is spoken in Lakota with English subtitles.
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However, his career took a hit with the release of "Waterworld" in 1995, which was the most expensive movie ever made at the time, costing $175m. The film became a Hollywood punch line for the rest of the decade. This period also coincided with a tough time personally, as Costner split from his wife and mother of his first three children, Cindy Silva, in 1994.
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Despite these setbacks, Costner continued to work in Hollywood, starring in films like "Silverado," "Wyatt Earp," "Open Range," and "Let Him Go," as well as TV shows like "The Hatfields and McCoys" and "Yellowstone." He told GQ this year, “I’m haunted by the interactions of people when there’s no law; when something’s wide open, how do you behave? And it’s a really interesting way to measure yourself in the dark. Who do I think I am in this? Now, a lot of people go, ‘Well, of course I’m the f—ing hero.’ And you want to say, ‘Really? You sure about that?”
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Costner's affinity for the Western genre is not just limited to his acting roles. He owns a 160-acre Aspen estate, now worth some $80m, which he put on the market to rent earlier this year at $36,000 per night. The property, named Dunbar Ranch after his “Dances with Wolves” character, bears a striking resemblance to the one inhabited by John Dutton, Costner’s beloved “Yellowstone” character.
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However, his refusal to appear in the final episodes of “Yellowstone” was a shock to fans. Despite audiences' love for John Dutton, they haven’t followed him over to the big screen, as the response to “Horizon” has been lukewarm at best. Ken Tucker, a longtime NPR pop music critic and former film critic for New York Magazine, told The Post, “With the fading of Clint Eastwood, Kevin Costner is the last Western man standing — the last major movie star-filmmaker who’s still interested in making traditional Westerns on a big scale. His problem is the audience for Westerns is getting as old as he is, and aging baby boomers can’t give him the box office results he needs."
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"Horizon," which Costner began developing in 1988, is a sweeping saga broken into four separate movies involving a 15-year span, before and after the Civil War, about the settlement of the American west. Costner is the star of the project, and also directed, produced, and co-wrote it. He told GQ that he sank $38 million of his own money into “Horizon”– mortgaging his lush $60m Santa Barbara home to fund the film.
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Costner compared his obsession with “Horizon” to the literary character Captain Ahab self-destructively pursuing the great white whale in “Moby Dick.” He told GQ, “The white whale obsessed him so much that he would take everybody down with them. I take nobody down with me. I take the risk myself.”
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Despite the failure of "Horizon," Costner remains reflective but unafraid. He said, “I’ve taken big bites out of life, life’s taken big ones out of me, right?” The first two “Horizon” movies, called “Chapters” were released in June and August, respectively, but after a weak box office performance, it’s unclear when, if ever, the final two will appear.
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Costner told The Hollywood Reporter in May he’d shot a few days of “Chapter 3” and had enough money to shoot maybe a week more. He admitted to GQ, “They’re going to happen regardless, but they’re not already funded.”
Brian Balthazar, a veteran entertainment journalist and TV producer, said Costner is far savvier than people may give him credit for, given his years of experience in Hollywood. He told The Post, “Costner has seen quite a few commercial successes in his long-term career, and it’s afforded him the chance, now more than ever, to think of his professional decisions as artistic endeavors without as much concern about the net financial gain. Whether his fans like it or not, he has demonstrated a commitment to creating art that resonates on a deeper level, often prioritizing storytelling and authenticity over commercial considerations.”
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Costner seems to relish the thrill of betting on himself, as he’s doing again in “Horizon,” – a gamble that exhilarates him as much as it scares him. He told GQ, “It doesn’t matter how much water’s hitting me in the face, I can’t let go of the rope.” But, he conceded, “I’m as far out on a limb right now as I’ve ever been.” Despite the challenges, Costner's resilience and commitment to his craft continue to define his career, proving that he is far from being down and out.
