The director Kevin Costner says defines success: “He’s a really gifted filmmaker”
Kevin Costner is a curious case. The star, who first found fame as a rugged Hollywood leading man taking on enigmatic roles in The Bodyguard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, has since struggled with staying atop the cinematic mantle. It would seem that for every major hit he is involved with, such as the aforementioned smashes, his Academy Award-winning picture Dances With Wolves and recent stint on Yellowstone, he has a project which seems to fail miserably.
Few people who lived through the 1990s would be able to note a more publicly shamed movie than Waterworld, which tanked at the box office and ended Costner’s most successful decade on a damp squib. Likewise, The Postman is one of his most tedious releases, while the jury remains firmly out on his most recent venture, Horizon: An American Saga, despite Costner sinking a gargantuan amount of his own money into making the movie. His failures have often been on a grand scale, but almost always on his own terms.
Costner has charisma and talent that cannot be denied. But what he holds in gruff charm, he seemingly loses in the ability to remain consistent. It’s something he has always pursued and what one of his favourite directors of all time has in spades.
Steven Spielberg remains an outlier in the world of cinema. He is seemingly as beloved by box offices as he is by critics. While there can be no doubt that the majority of his movies find themselves floating in the mainstream, he has rarely delivered a movie so ghastly it has jeopardised his career. Instead, his filmography contains cult classics, family-friendly smash hits and booming blockbusters. For Costner, Spielberg has it all.
During an interview with Tim Ferriss, Costner said that he is the one man who defines “successful” for him. The actor-director was quick in his response: The first person, I think, Steven Spielberg is really successful, you know?” Though he does namecheck Thomas Jefferson, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Costner continues: “Here’s a guy who’s probably not so dominant in his personality who’s been able to do everything he’s wanted to do.”
In particular, Costner spoke about Spielberg’s versatility despite his mainstream perception: “I don’t think Steven has limited himself. I think early on, people tried to say he can only make this kind of story. This guy is really gifted.”
Having stepped behind the camera, Costner is more well-placed than most to offer up a succicnt view of what it takes to succeed in the industry, and for him, Spielberg operates as one of the best and broadest moviemakers: “He’s a really gifted filmmaker and I think he has challenged almost all genres, he really has. From Sugarland Express, to Minority Report and these different things, besides the obvious ones that really changed the way people look at film. Jaws, and ET, and Close Encounters were giant, giant movies and I think he has really bounced around. I think he’s been incredibly successful.”
There is a strong case that, in the world of cinema, there are few directors who have had as many hits as Spielberg and for a patchy performer like Costner, that level of consistency is something he can only dream of. Costner has tasted defeat and victory in equal measure, but for him, the real sense of winning is being able to do what you want, and with that in mind, Costner might well be the most successful of all.
