Actor Kevin Costner is known for his leading roles in Westerns such as Open Range and Dances With Wolves. The veteran actor has been in the industry for over four decades and has a particular process when it comes to acting. The actor has also been a filmmaker and recently premiered his dream project Horizon: An American Saga at Cannes.
Costner played the role of Al Harrison, the director of the Space Task Group in the period drama Hidden Figures. The film starred Taraji P. Henson and was based on the lives of the African-American mathematicians who worked in the Space Task Group. Costner reportedly did not want to play the role initially but was reportedly convinced by the director’s passion.
Kevin Costner Initially Rejected His Role In Hidden Figures
Kevin Costner is one of the most prolific actors working in the industry today. The actor is currently making headlines for his latest directorial Horizon: An American Saga and his debacle with the makers of the TV show Yellowstone. Costner was reportedly in a feud with the makers due to scheduling conflicts between the show and his film.
However, this is not the first time that the Oscar-winning actor has had differences with the makers. Back when he was offered the role of Al Harrison in Hidden Figures, Costner reportedly rejected it as he felt that the character was very inconsistent in his behavior and that was something that he was not comfortable with.
Harrison was reportedly based on three real people who worked in the Space Task Group. Hence, Kevin Costner told director and co-writer Theodore Melfi that he did not want to do the role. In an interview with Vulture, he said,
I just said, simply, ‘Congratulations on the screenplay. It’s not my M.O. to come in and want to change things because of some weird pride of authorship, but this part is difficult. It’s schizophrenic.’ And he was quiet, and I thought, ‘Well, f*ck. I just hurt his feelings and I didn’t want to do that.’
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The actor then mentioned that he expressed this to Melfi, who promised him that they would work on the character every day.
Kevin Costner Finally Accepted The Role After The Director Assured Him
Theodore Melfi’s Hidden Figures received positive responses universally, with many appreciating Taraji P. Henson’s performance of Katherine Goble Johnson. The film was a commercial success at the box office, earning $236 million at the global office. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars.
Despite its potential, the film reportedly had one issue at the script level. Actor Kevin Costner mentioned that he was dissatisfied with the way the character was handled in the initial draft. However, after rejecting it the first time, director Theodore Melfi reportedly assured him that they would work on the character together. Costner said to Vulture,
He goes, ‘I’ll do it. And we’ll do it together.’ I said, ‘Really?’ And he said, ‘Really.’ Listen, a lot of people will promise you a lot of things to get you in a movie, and then all of a sudden, reasons will come along as to why they can’t do them anymore and that promise gets broken. That didn’t happen with Ted. He was very true to me about his pledge to make this be a supporting part that supported these women and this movie.
While Kevin Costner was initially skeptical as he was used to filmmakers overpromising and not delivering due to logistical issues, he mentioned that Melfi kept his promise.