In his four-decade career, Costner would continue to live by that mantra picking roles in films and TV shows that began with a great story. (Think Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, JFK, Tin Cup, Dances With Wolves, Hidden Figures, The Upside of Anger, Yellowstone, The Highwaymen and on and on.) He even co-founded the app HearHere that tells stories about the locales people are visiting as they travel there. “I love stories,” he writes on the app’s website. “I am the guy that stops at the historical markers along the highway, usually bringing moans from everyone in the car.” A winner of two Oscars, two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy, Costner has thrived an as actor, director and producer. Throughout his eclectic ride in Hollywood, he has paid homage to the wild frontier in many Westerns including Wyatt Earp, Dances With Wolves, Open Range and Yellowstone. He even explores the West as a singer/songwriter with his country-rock band, Modern West. Costner has been enchanted by Westerns since he was young. When he was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum at the Cowboy Hall of Fame, he recounted his feeling when, at age 7, he saw How the West Was Won at the famous Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. “I never moved. I was too small for my seat, and my feet must have stuck straight out, because I know they never hit the floor,” he shared in a moving speech. “The music was playing before the curtain opened, and when it did, it was like God spoke to me and the scales came off my eyes. I never left my seat, refusing to leave even at intermission,” he told the crowd. “Candy and Coke, they were just not important. I wasn’t gonna miss a thing. And if you think my own pictures run long, then you can blame it on that day.” As we fondly recall his 40-year career, take a trip down memory lane with these throwback photos of Kevin Costner through the years. Next, Kevin Costner Opens Up About Yellowstone, Westerns, His Tough Childhood and More
