While it might be hard for many to believe, Kevin Costner was not always so confident about his acting. Having made his feature film debut with Malibu Hot Summer, it would still take him some time to grow into showbiz. After all, his first project was not one he would like to write home about. His real break would come 4 years later with Silverado, but he still harbored doubts about his caliber at the time. And it came back to haunt him while he was working with Sean Connery.
Kevin Costner was grateful for being a part of The Untouchables
The chance to work on The Untouchables was an opportunity that Kevin Costner would forever cherish. Directed by Brian De Palma and based on the true story of Eliot Ness, the movie told the story of how one of the biggest kingpins in America was brought to his knees for tax evasion by the Court.
The 1987 movie, starring Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, and Robert De Niro, also included Sean Connery. While the 69-year-old might have been the protagonist in the flick, he found it difficult to rise up to the expectations of working with such heavyweights of the industry. The burden, sooner rather than later, did get to him, and left him with one regret.
Kevin Costner cherished working with stalwarts
In an interview with GQ, the Man of Steel star shared a word or two about some of his leading roles. The discussion, at one point, turned to his performance in The Untouchables. And that is an experience he will always cherish. He said,
“The Untouchables was a really well written script. David Mamet had written really a very perfect script, and so I wanted to be a part of it. Brian de Palma directed it, and of course, Sean Connery was in it, you know, Robert De Niro, and it was a good moment for me to be in that movie.” (YouTube)
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While the experience might have been a surreal one, it was not without its drawbacks. Working with people of this stature was a big feat for a young Costner, who was yet to cement his name in the list of Hollywood bigwigs. And one thing he wanted more than anything was to get close to the James Bond star.
Kevin Costner regretted that he was not a good actor at the time he shot The Untouchables
Kevin Costner had the chance to work closely with Sean Connery on the set of The Untouchables. Explaining how an unlikely friendship blossomed, he said,
“He (Connery) always called me Mr. Nash. ‘Mr. Nash, can I talk to you?’ And I was like, every time he’d say that, I’d go, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.’ We became friends.”
In spite of this equation, he held one regret – his acting wasn’t up to the mark. Continuing his thoughts, he said,
“I actually didn’t think Sean was the kind of guy that was gonna like me. I don’t know why, but he did. He was good to me. And I learned a lot because my eyes were open. I wish I was a better actor when I did The Untouchables but I was where I was at.”
He couldn’t help but wonder how different everything could have turned out to be if he had been a little more prolific at his job. Though things turned around with time, it is a regret that he still finds difficult to get over.