Although ‘The Untouchables’ was a big break for young Kevin Costner, the actor struggled mightily while working with Robert De Niro
Being two of Hollywood’s most prominent actors, Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro once collaborated for their 1987 crime thriller The Untouchables. Among other famous faces starring in the film, there was the James Bond actor Sean Connery who appeared as Jim Malone in Brian De Palma’s film.
While the success of The Untouchables helped young Kevin Costner catapult his Hollywood fame and become one of the biggest stars of his era, the actor had a unique experience working with Robert De Niro. Despite being ever professional on set, Costner surprisingly struggled to work alongside De Niro. So much so that he even asked for Sean Connery’s help to sort out his issue.
Kevin Costner Struggled Working With Robert De Niro
Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro are two of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. With several critically acclaimed movies to their names and numerous coveted accolades under their belt, the two have certainly reached the summit of their success. But there was a time when Costner was just starting his career, and looking for his big break, when he landed the opportunity to work alongside De Niro.
Throwback to the time when Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro starred alongside Sean Connery in Brian De Palma’s 1987 crime thriller The Untouchables. While the film’s success proved to be vital to Costner’s career as he was looking for his big break, it certainly turned into a challenging task for him to work with De Niro. Although other actors would have killed to be in Costner’s position, the actor noted struggling mightily while filming.
After Kevin Costner made his debut in the early 1980s, The Untouchables ended up being the film that skyrocketed his fame. However, despite Costner’s dedication towards the project and his professionalism on set, the actor found difficulty working with Robert De Niro. Although they only had a few scenes together, Costner told EW during an interview how it was challenging for him to get through those few sequences.
Kevin Costner Sought Sean Connery’s Help
Playing the role of a federal agent, Eliot Ness, Kevin Costner’s character was assigned the task of exposing the illegal business happening under Robert De Niro’s, Al Capone, and bringing him to justice. But while shooting the film, Costner found it challenging and quite intimidating to match De Niro’s eccentric performance. Using his creative freedom with his character, as De Niro employed improv, Costner struggled to keep up.
“I had trouble with some of the scenes with [De Niro], because my character was very straight-arrow and Robert was able to jump off the page. I was trying to survive my straight-arrow language against someone who was throwing a level of street language at me that had a level of improv to it. So it was hard for me to survive in some of those scenes, and Sean [Connery] talked to me a little bit about it.”
Since Kevin Costner was assigned a traditional government official role, he couldn’t deviate from the script, whereas Robert De Niro simply used improv whenever he felt appropriate. This particular issue frustrated Costner to his core, but thankfully his legendary co-star Sean Connery understood the actor’s frustrations and came to help.
Realizing young Kevin Costner’s devotion towards his stagecraft, Sean Connery came forward to help the actor with his struggles. According to Costner, Connery spoke with him and helped him a little bit with understanding Robert De Niro’s performance. Helping Costner understand De Niro’s way of working, Connery eased his challenges and brought out the very best in the actor.