Australian actress Abbey Lee and American star Kevin Costner appear to have struck up a very close professional relationship while working on his latest movie.
The Hollywood director, 69, who split from his wife Christine Baumgartner last year, has been starring across from the Down Under native, 37, during his four-part film project Horizon: An American Saga.
Now, as the co-stars and friends do a media blitz for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, they have been spotted gushing over each other at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals in recent months, reported The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.
Mad Max star Abbey told the publication she is impressed by the Yellowstone actor’s flippant attitude to the ‘rules’ of filmmaking.
‘Kevin is making up the rules. He’s going, “F**k the system. I make up the rules.” And I think he’s deserved that,’ she said during the debut of Chapter 2 at the Venice International Film Festival (VIFF).
Meanwhile, just a few months earlier in May, Oscar-winner Kevin had only glowing reviews for Abbey’s performance in his hours-long western drama.
During the Cannes Film Festival, the producer said he couldn’t stop ‘adding things’ for Abbey’s scenes in Chapter 2 of his movie saga, just months before its debut at VIFF, because he wanted to see more of the Aussie star in his film.
‘I wanted to continue her story a little bit and I couldn’t sleep at night, which also drove people crazy. Kevin, you’re done with [Chapter] 2. No, I’m not,’ he said.
‘I want to do something with Abbey too. I can’t help it. She’s so fabulous in the movie. I mean, she’s one of the most inventive actresses I’ve met.’
Abbey portrays Marigold in the epic western who is the love interest of Hayes Ellison, the lead character played by Kevin who is also the director, producer and co-writer.
The supermodel revealed in July that Kevin made her feel ‘really comfortable’ while filming the sex scene between their characters in Chapter 1.
‘Kevin was very sensitive about that. He made sure that I was really comfortable and we had a long talk about it beforehand,’ Abbey told People in an article at the time.
Abbey said Kevin ‘told me how it would be shot, that there wouldn’t be any nudity, that there would be nothing graphic’.
‘You have to talk about the details of it so you understand what’s going on so everyone feels safe and comfortable. And we obviously had those conversations,’ she added.
It comes after Kevin said he is open to finding love again after his recent separation and subsequent divorce battle.
On navigating life following his split from Christine Baumgartner, the actor said he is ‘not going to let anything harden [his] heart’.
About falling in love again, he said that he ‘[loves] the idea of that possibility’ in his People cover story published in June.
When asked about how he has been navigating life after his ex filed for divorce in May 2023 after nearly 20 years of marriage, he simply responded: ‘You just do it.’
‘You just keep talking, you keep coaching [the kids], you keep interested in what they’re interested in,’ he continued. ‘I had to.’
The father of seven — who shares sons Cayden, 17, Hayes, 15, and 14-year-old daughter Grace with Christine — also added that he is hopeful of finding love again.
‘Yeah, I think everybody would like to be in love,’ said the three-time Golden Globe winner — who also has four adult children: Annie, 40, Lily, 37, Joe, 36, and Liam, 27.
‘There’s such a good feeling that’s associated with that,’ he continued.
‘It may have to be defined in a different way,’ he added. ‘But yeah, I love the idea of that possibility.’