At 70, Kevin Costner Finally Tells the Truth About Robert Redford | HO!!

Hollywood legends rarely open up about the people who shaped their lives. Ego, rivalry, image control—those things tend to keep actors silent. But as Kevin Costner turned 70, something inside him shifted.

For the first time in his five-decade career, the Oscar-winning actor finally decided to tell the world the truth about one man:

Robert Redford.

The truth wasn’t scandalous.
It wasn’t competitive.
It wasn’t dramatic in the way tabloids expect.

It was deeper—a revelation about mentorship, legacy, identity, and the unseen bond between two of the greatest storytellers of the American West.

Costner had been silent for decades.
Now, at 70, he was ready to speak.

The Journey to 70: How Kevin Costner Became Kevin Costner

To understand why Redford’s influence mattered so deeply, you have to understand the man Costner was before Hollywood molded him.

Kevin Michael Costner was born January 18, 1955, in Lynwood, California, the youngest of three boys in a working-class family. His mother, Sharon Rae, was a welfare worker; his father, William Costner, an electrician who later moved into utility management. The Costners moved constantly for work, uprooting the family from town to town across California.

Those early relocations carved something into him:

Adaptability. Resilience. Self-reliance.

He learned to fit in everywhere and belong nowhere.

He wasn’t a theater kid.
He wasn’t a film obsessive.
He wasn’t dreaming of Oscars.

He was an athlete, a musician, a storyteller who didn’t yet know that storytelling was his destiny.

He entered California State University, Fullerton, majoring in business—marketing and finance. He expected a normal life, a normal job, a normal future.

And then it happened.

The Richard Burton Encounter That Changed Everything

Costner has told this story only in fragments, but it remains one of Hollywood’s great origin legends.

During a flight home, Kevin encountered Shakespearean titan Richard Burton, whose quiet gravitas shook him to his core.

Burton told him something simple—so simple that Costner barely understood how it would live in him:

“If you have the heart for it… pursue it.”

That was the strike of lightning.

Costner got off that plane and decided he couldn’t spend his life sitting at a desk. He wasn’t meant for numbers. He was meant for stories.

He began acting classes.
Community theater.
Odd jobs—truck driving, fishing, carpentry, marketing—anything that kept him afloat while he chased a dream he couldn’t yet articulate.

He wasn’t discovered.
He clawed his way up one obscured rung at a time.

The Break Lawrence Kasdan Didn’t Show the World—Then Made Up For

Costner’s first big “break” came with The Big Chill (1983).
He played Alex, the dead friend whose suicide sets the entire story into motion.

He filmed emotional flashback scenes.
He poured himself into the role.

Then Kasdan cut every single Costner scene from the movie.

Most actors would have quit.
Costner didn’t.

Kasdan didn’t forget him.
Two years later, he cast Costner again—this time as one of the leads in Silverado (1985). Costner’s charisma exploded off the screen.

Audiences instantly connected with him.
He wasn’t trying to “act cool.”
He just was.

That performance opened the floodgates.

The Meteoric Rise: America Finds Its Hero

From 1987 to 1994, Kevin Costner became the face of American cinema.

The Untouchables (1987)

As Eliot Ness, he was stoic, upright, moral.

Bull Durham (1988)

As Crash Davis, he was charming, romantic, world-weary.

Field of Dreams (1989)

As Ray Kinsella, he was vulnerable, emotional, iconic.

And then came his masterpiece.

“Dances with Wolves”: The Film That Redford Inspired More Than Anyone Knew

Costner acted in, produced, and directed Dances with Wolves (1990)—a film Hollywood executives predicted would destroy his career.

Three hours long?
Historical?
Centered on Lakota culture?
Directed by an actor with zero directing experience?

It was destined to fail.

But it didn’t.

It won 7 Academy Awards, including:

Best Director

Best Picture

It became a global phenomenon, one of the most culturally important films ever made about Native American history.

And what Costner only now admits is that he wouldn’t have dared make it without one person:

Robert Redford.

Robert Redford: The Shadow Mentor Behind the Legend

For decades, Costner has referred to Redford as “one of the greats,” but he never revealed how deep the connection truly went.

At 70, he finally told the truth.

**“He wasn’t just someone I admired.

Redford is the artist who showed me what courage looks like.”**
—Kevin Costner

Before Costner ever stepped behind a camera, Redford had done the impossible:

He became a top-tier Hollywood actor

Then reinvented himself as a world-class director

Then created the Sundance Institute, championing independent voices

Redford embodied independence.
He embodied integrity.
He embodied risk-taking.

Kevin Costner saw himself in that.
Or rather—he saw who he wanted to be.

The Film He Was Almost Cast In

In the early 1990s, Redford approached Costner about starring in A River Runs Through It—a film ultimately headlined by Brad Pitt.

But Costner now reveals that the conversations leading up to the film were more important than the role itself.

Redford told him:

“It’s not about fishing, Kevin.
It’s about fathers and sons—
about the things men never say but always feel.”

Those words stayed with Costner for decades.

They reshaped the way he thought about character, story, and filmmaking.

They reshaped him.

A Friendship Built on Land, Not Spotlight

Most Hollywood friendships are forged in:

parties

premieres

publicity obligations

But Costner and Redford bonded over something deeper:

the American West.

Redford with Sundance.
Costner with his Colorado ranches.

Both saw the land as sacred.
Both saw the West as identity, not location.
Both believed in stories rooted in wide-open landscapes and quiet human truths.

Costner said:

“We talked about the West more than we talked about movies.
That’s how I knew he was my kind of artist.”

Their friendship lived in private conversations, not photo ops.

There was no rivalry.
No competition.
No ego.

Just two men obsessed with storytelling, integrity, and nature.

Why Costner Never Spoke About It—Until Now

Hollywood loves feuds.
Hollywood loves gossip.
Hollywood loves rivalry.

But what Hollywood never understands is genuine mentorship.

Costner says:

“People always want to pit actors against each other.
But Redford and I were never in competition.
We were just two guys trying to tell stories that matter.”

Costner kept the relationship private out of respect.
Out of gratitude.
Out of reverence.

But turning 70 changes a man.

And Costner realized the time had come to give Redford the credit he quietly believed Redford deserved.

How Redford Shaped Costner’s Directing Philosophy

Costner admits something shocking:

He still hears Robert Redford’s voice whenever he directs.

Not literally—
but in the artistic sense:

“When I direct, I hear him reminding me to slow down.
To find the truth in the moment.
To trust silence.
To trust the land.”

Costner directs like a man who worships character, landscape, and authenticity.

Where did that come from?

Partly from instinct—
but largely from Redford.

The Yellowstone Era: Costner’s Redford-Inspired Renaissance

At a time when many actors slow down, Costner sped up.

His role as John Dutton in Yellowstone resurrected his career for a new generation.
He became the patriarch of modern Western television.

Stoic.
Weathered.
Relentless.
Moral.
Haunted.

The character could easily exist in a Redford film.

And that’s because Redford helped shape Kevin Costner the artist long before Yellowstone ever existed.

Costner’s Private Life: The Human Being Behind the Western Hero

While his career soared, Costner lived a complicated, deeply human life.

Marriage #1 — Cindy Silva

His college sweetheart.
His first big love.
His grounding force.

They divorced in 1994 after 16 years—an $80 million settlement that shattered headlines.

Marriage #2 — Christine Baumgartner

Nearly two decades together.
Three children.
A partnership that saw him through the Yellowstone renaissance.

Their 2024 divorce shocked fans.

But through heartbreak, reinvention, and self-discovery, Costner always kept certain things sacred:

Family.
Honesty.
Integrity.
Land.
Storytelling.

And all of these values connected him to one man—Robert Redford.

The Line That Says Everything

When Costner finally opened up about Redford, he said a single sentence that summarized decades of private admiration:

“If I ever made a film that touched someone, it’s because men like Robert Redford showed me how.”

Not Hollywood.
Not fame.
Not studios.

Redford.

That truth, at 70, is what Costner wanted the world to finally understand.

Redford didn’t just inspire him.
He didn’t just advise him.
He didn’t just encourage him.

Robert Redford helped shape the man Kevin Costner became—

as a filmmaker,
as an actor,
as a storyteller,
as a father,
as a human being.

A Final Tribute: What Costner Wanted Everyone to Know

Costner ended the interview with a reflection that stunned fans with its honesty:

“Success isn’t fame.
Success is integrity.
Redford taught me that.”

At 70, when most men slow down, Kevin Costner is still building:

His epic Horizon saga

New music with Modern West

Independent projects

Philanthropic work for land preservation

His legacy as one of America’s last true cinematic cowboys

But he knew he couldn’t move into the final chapter of his career without acknowledging the man who helped write the first one.

Robert Redford wasn’t just a legend to him.
He was a blueprint.
A compass.
A mentor.
A North Star.

And now, the world finally knows.