Hollywood star Kevin Costner has portrayed a wide variety of roles over many decades. From action to drama to romance, the veteran has proved his mettle in many genres while also becoming a commercially successful star at the box office. One of his marquee films that made a big impact on audiences was 1989’s Field Of Dreams.
This sports fantasy drama about baseball and its legends, inspired Major League Baseball (MLB) to start a special game that is played in a ballpark adjacent to the cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa where the film was set and got its title from. More than 3 decades later, Costner appeared as a special invitee for the game and gave spectators goosebumps as he recreated an iconic moment from the film.
Kevin Costner Gave Fans Goosebumps With This Nostalgic Tribute To His Cult Film
Every actor has had films that have defined their career which have stood the test of time. While Kevin Costner has been part of many such projects, his 1989 film Field of Dreams was special in more ways than one. The movie which is based on W. P. Kinsella’s 1982 novel Shoeless Joe, sees the Open Range actor playing a farmer who is guided by a mysterious voice to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield in Iowa.
This field attracts ghosts of many baseball legends including Shoeless Joe Jackson played by Ray Liotta, along with marquee players from the Chicago White Sox. Through the relationship of Costner’s character and his dead father who was an ardent baseball fan, the film also pays an emotional tribute to familial bonds and the importance of nurturing them.
In one touching scene that defined the ethos of the movie, the ghosts from the 1919 Chicago White Sox team walk into the baseball field with Costner’s protagonist accompanying them. Almost 3 decades later, The Bodyguard actor recreated this sequence during the Fields of Dreams game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.
This special game in the MLB which was inspired by the film, is played every year in a ball park near the cornfield in Dyersville, Iowa, where the narrative is set. Mirroring this particular scene, Costner entered the baseball diamond from the cornfield with the players from both teams walking with him.
This was a surreal feeling not only for the Yellowstone actor, but also for his fans and spectators who understood the gravity and significance of his appearance at the game. This was precisely why Costner wanted to ensure that the importance of this moment was not diluted. In an interview with Jake’s Takes, the star revealed his decision to enter without explaining the situation, and why he felt this was necessary.
They wanted me to come talk, and I said, ‘I’m not gonna talk, I’m gonna let the music play’. And some people said ‘well, we won’t know what you’re doing’, and I said, ‘everybody in those stands will know what I’m doing, I think it will have more impact if I don’t say a word and the music plays, and I walk to the mike afterwards.’
As it turned out, this decision by the Horizon actor hit front and center with fans. There was not a dry eye in the stands after viewers got to witness this momentous occasion that connected sports and movies in a wonderful way.
Kevin Costner’s Father Inspired His Love Towards Westerns
While Yellowstone will remain one of Kevin Costner’s best efforts in the western drama space, the veteran actor’s love for the genre goes back many years. The Water World star has also worked in many other Western films and shows like 1985’s Silverado, and the three-part 2012 History Channel miniseries Hatfields & McCoys with Bill Paxton.
In 2003, the celebrity directed and acted in the American Western film Open Range. The narrative follows a former gunslinger and Civil War vet played by the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves star, who is forced back into action to fight a corrupt lawman played by Michael Gambon.
Open Range also starred Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Diego Luna. The film was a box-office success, grossing over $68 million (via The Numbers), and was well-liked by critics and audiences. Costner, who credited this film as the beginning of his love affair with Westerns, spoke of the influence his father had and his wish to see him portray roles of this nature.
In an interview with Yahoo Entertainment’s Role Recall in 2014 on the occasion of the 20th year of the film, Costner looked back on the events leading up to making Open Range and the impact it had on him going forward in his career.
My dad really loved John Wayne. And he said to me, ‘You can do that’. And of course I can’t be John Wayne. But I have personally taken an interest in the American Western. That final shootout, a lot of people say that they really enjoy that. That’s been ranked as maybe the top shootout. So I’m very proud of that.
This film was almost a premonition for Costner by his own admission, as the actor was certain that he would go on to make more projects of this nature along the course of his career.
Field of Dreams is streaming on Apple TV.
