“I couldn’t talk out against the war”: Real Reason Yellowstone Star Kevin Costner Wasn’t Allowed to Speak Against the Vietnam War

Kevin Costner may not be the Hollywood heavyweight he once used to be, but the movie star who once ruled over Hollywood is yet to lose his shine. With a firm grasp of the studio system and an in-depth knowledge of how film productions work, the A-lister has gone on to launch his first directorial project in 20 years with Horizon: An American Saga.

But the journey that eventually brought Costner out of obscurity to one of the uppermost echelons of society was a difficult one, paved with doubt and self-discovery. As such, the Oscar-winner, in the recent past, has begun to reflect on his younger days, the struggles and dilemmas of youth, and the decisions that guided and landed him where he is today.

Kevin Costner Struggled to Find His Place in the World

For Yellowstone star Kevin Costner, growing up and facing his young adult years was a challenge far greater than the one he has had to put up with in recent years. Fans already realize the extent of animosity that runs between him and Taylor Sheridan over the Yellowstone conflict, but to add to the background noise with a flashback to his boyhood trauma is simply equal to rubbing salt on the injury.

Not one to make a mountain out of a molehill, Costner has remained a picture-perfect example of grace, poise, and elegance of the 80s and the 90s. With a career on the rise and status more venerated than ever, the A-lister felt the rush that came with being the most desired star of the season – by the studios, the box office, and the fans. It becomes easy to forget one’s past amid such chaos.

However, after spending 4 long decades in the business, a crushing blow of realization did settle in. While working at Paramount on the Taylor Sheridan series, the uncertainty he faced regarding the filming schedule between the two halves of Yellowstone Season 5 was reminiscent of the uncertainty he faced as a young man who had to constantly fight for his place in the world while questioning his own self-worth.

Moreover, the animosity and alienation that came after he chose his passion project over Yellowstone was reminiscent of the estrangement he felt from his peers during his early years at university. The failure of support and understanding from the fans felt reminiscent of his constant need to please and seek the approval of those he loved. And with those memories also came another unwelcome realization.

Kevin Costner Couldn’t Speak Out Against the War

During his early days at university, Kevin Costner discovered that purpose came quickly to others while he still had to wait to realize what he wanted from life. However, even for an inherently divided person such as him, Costner still realized the absolute futility and wickedness of war. Concurrently, the ’70s were a period of great social and political movement when youths would take to the streets to protest against such practices.

However, the conservative household that Kevin Costner grew up in prevented him from speaking his mind when it came to this exact subject. In a profile interview with GQ, the Oscar-winner revealed:

I lost a lot of confidence in those years and almost lost myself. I couldn’t talk out against the war. I started to write a whole book about my brother in Vietnam. I mean, I started and stopped. I still hadn’t found my own voice.

I [was] surrounded by people who know they want to be an architect, who know what they want to be, and I still didn’t know what it was. And I had this realization… that I need to listen to my own voice and not worry about pleasing my parents. It’s like: ‘I didn’t give a shit what my parents thought.’ Well, I did when I was in my teens. I certainly had my own dreams, but I was suppressing them.

Eventually, the lost boy with no voice became one of the most in-demand, respected, lauded, and creatively gifted stars ever to grace the backlots of Hollywood. With a distinctly unique vision (that leaned more toward Westerns than modern-day action movie blockbusters), Costner captured the heart of the industry that kept hopes alive, made dreams come true, and transformed wars into a thing of glory and valor rather than a dreadful futile view of life and misery.

Yellowstone is currently streaming on Paramount+ while Horizon: An American Saga is set to launch on June 28, 2024.