KEVIN COSTNER BETS IT ALL AGAIN
GQ US|Summer 2024
For years, Kevin Costner had an obsession he couldn't shake: A four-part film epic called Horizon that has so far cost him $38 million of his own money. Now, he talks in-depth for the first time about why he left Yellowstone and why he's placing one of the most grandiose bets in Hollywood history on himself.
ZACH BARON
KEVIN COSTNER BETS IT ALL AGAIN

SOMETIMES KEVIN COSTNER imagines that he's watching himself in a film about Kevin Costner. He pictures himself in a theater; it's dark and he's gazing at himself in the same way we have over the years, rooting for him to succeed. In times of embattlement or stress, he says, "I've got to be my own movie." In Westerns, Costner's preferred genre, the hero tends to ride in, outmatched and outgunned, only to come away victorious. This often seems to be the way Costner sees himself too. Famously, Costner's first big break as an actor was being cast in 1983's The Big Chill; then, after shooting, all his scenes were cut. Before he was dropped from the film, "I had all my friends going, 'Kevin, you're in that movie. You should do press. You should ride this wave," he told me. "And I said, 'No. It'll be a more interesting story once I do what I know I'm going to do.""

Costner is a lifetime devotee of the hard way. When Ron Shelton cast the actor in 1988's Bull Durham, he tried to hand Costner the part, only for Costner to insist on auditioning anyway. "So we went from having lunch to the batting cage on Sepulveda with a bunch of quarters," Shelton told me. "And we're putting quarters in there and he's hitting line drives right-handed and lefthanded, and we're playing catch in the parking lot. Girls are walking by him. They don't know who he is. Three months later, they're going to know who he is."

This story is from the Summer 2024 edition of GQ US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the Summer 2024 edition of GQ US.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM GQ USView All
Can the Cult of Kiko Kostadinov Go Mainstream?
GQ US

Can the Cult of Kiko Kostadinov Go Mainstream?

Rather than dilute his vision for the masses, fashion's wildest young designer is converting fans to the church of the weird.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2025
MARCH MADNESS WITH PAIGE BUCKETS
GQ US

MARCH MADNESS WITH PAIGE BUCKETS

With elite skills, killer deals, and an army of fans, UConn star Paige Bueckers and the unprecedented powerembodies the excitementof new-school women's basketball.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2025
What's So Mysterious About John Malkovich?
GQ US

What's So Mysterious About John Malkovich?

From directing a play in Latvian to designing eccentric fashion lines to shooting a film that won't be seen until 2115, John Malkovich is one of our most dependably freaky movie stars. In his latest, A24's Opus, he plays a reclusive genius pop star. To learn about the peculiar new role, GQ traveled all the way to... the suburbs of Boston.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2025
MICHAEL B. JORDAN WANTS TO SLOW DOWN (BUT NOT RIGHT NOW)
GQ US

MICHAEL B. JORDAN WANTS TO SLOW DOWN (BUT NOT RIGHT NOW)

The Sinner star once told GQ he intended to spend his 20s doing pedal-to-the-floor work, then reevaluate. But at 38, he's still seeking out new challenges-and pushing that deadline further into the future. FRAZIER THARPE rides shotgun in Jordan's Ferrari to find out what keeps him moving so fast.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2025
The Future of Sperm
GQ US

The Future of Sperm

ONE CHILDLESS MAN'S JOURNEY THROUGH THE SCI-FI START-UPS, DIY DONOR CLUBS, AND GROUP MASTURBATION RETREATS ATTEMPTING TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM THE MISUNDERSTOOD APOCALYPSE INSIDE MEN'S BODIES.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2025
The Karate Kid Takes a Gap Year
GQ US

The Karate Kid Takes a Gap Year

It's the end of an era for Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña. On the eve of the series finale, he tells GQ what's next: a soul- searching stint in New York City.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2025
ANATOMY OF A RIOT
GQ US

ANATOMY OF A RIOT

Last summer, the murders of three children in a small seaside town in England's northwest triggered a contagion of violence that spread throughout the country practically overnight. The speed and ease with which the riots took shape-propagated by angry men, distorted by social media falsehoods, and amplified by anti-immigrant opportunists-helps explain why this moment when the truth is so fraught is making life in the UK, the US, and beyond feel so dangerous.

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 2025
Zenith Shoots for the Rainbow
GQ US

Zenith Shoots for the Rainbow

Long lauded by in-the-know collectors for its technical achievements, the storied Swiss maker is aiming to go pop with an audacious new timepiece.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2025
EVERYONE PAYS THE FANUM TAX
GQ US

EVERYONE PAYS THE FANUM TAX

He got big by streaming videos of his gaming exploits. He got huge (like, millions-of-fans huge) streaming videos of his offline life. Now, one of Gen Z's wildest success stories explains his plans to revolutionize the rest of the media landscape.

time-read
10+ mins  |
February 2025
RIDELY SCOTT IS NOT LOOKING BACK
GQ US

RIDELY SCOTT IS NOT LOOKING BACK

NOBODY IS MAKING BIG MOVIES WITH THE SPEED -OR THE CONFIDENCE- OF THE GLADIATOR AND ALIEN MASTERMIND, NOW 87. HE DOESN'T CARE WHO NOTICES.

time-read
10+ mins  |
February 2025