Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood are both esteemed filmmakers and actors who have only worked together once in their long careers. Known for their broad-based storytelling and acting prowess, both Hollywood luminaries have each made a significant impact on cinema and storytelling.
Yet what people might remember them best by is their contribution to the Western genre. While Costner has been heralded for reviving the genre with his Oscar-winning movie Dances with Wolves, Eastwood gifted the world Unforgiven, one of his greatest films. Coincidentally, it is also the movie that Costner really wanted to make.
When Kevin Costner Wanted To Steal Clint Eastwood’s Best Movie
Described by the Library of Congress as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant, Clint Eastwood‘s Unforgiven is easily one of the best works the actor has done as a director or as its lead. The Western is among the big leagues as far as the genre is concerned and has received incredible critical acclaim for its portrayal of the Wild Wild West.
On the other hand, is Kevin Costner, a visionary and a known aficionado of the Western genre. The actor, producer, and filmmaker has constantly shown his love and expertise within the genre and is credited with having revived it with his multiple Academy Award-winning film Dances with Wolves.
While Costner’s gamble with the genre brought it back in the 1990s, Eastwood may or may not have been inspired by it to make Unforgiven, a movie for which he held the script for years (via NJ.com). Although the script was penned in the 1970s, it was in 1992 that the movie was finally released.
Despite Costner’s short dabble in the Western genre back then and Eastwood already having established his name within it, the Dances with Wolves star wanted to make Eastwood’s best Western movie.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Yellowstone star revealed how he chased Unforgiven as a director for six years. While Unforgiven ended up getting made and starred by Eastwood, the possibility of Kevin Costner helming the film is something that every Costner-Eastwood fan would have loved to witness.
Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood Later Worked Together in A Perfect World
Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood might not have managed to work together in Unforgiven, a fortunate yet lost opportunity. But both pundits of the Western genre collaborated years later in one of Eastwood’s most underrated movies, A Perfect World.
The Dirty Harry actor directed and played the lead as a Texas Ranger chasing Costner as an escaped convict. The movie might not have been as grand as a success, but with time, it has ranked among one of the best movies of Eastwood.
Not only did both actors receive immense praise for their acting, but the movie also has a highly favorable ranking on several platforms (see Rotten Tomatoes). A bittersweet film and the only collaboration of Eastwood and Costner, many might be disappointed to know that the actors hardly share enough screen time.