Why Kevin Costner asked son Hayes, 15, to make his acting debut in ‘Horizon’: I ‘did it on purpose’
Like father, like son.
Kevin Costner‘s son, Hayes, made his acting debut alongside his famous dad in the first trailer for the Western “Horizon: An American Saga,” which premiered Monday.
In the teaser for the upcoming multi-part epic, Hayes, 15, can be seen defying the wishes of his mother (Sienna Miller) by refusing to take shelter in the basement with her after invaders besiege their home.
“It’s all right. I’m gonna be with dad,” Hayes says as he shuts the basement door on his anxious-looking mother as a fire rages around him.
The “Yellowstone” actor, 69, opened up to People about his son’s new role on the big screen in November 2022.
“Hayes plays the namesake character that I actually play in the movie,” the “Bodyguard” actor told the outlet. “He’s 13 years old, and the screenplay’s been around longer than that.”
The “Dances With Wolves” star, who shares Hayes with ex-wife Christine Baumgartner along with 16-year-old Cayden Costner and 13-year-old Grace Avery Costner, cast his son in an attempt to spend more time with him.
“I kind of did it on purpose, so he could be hanging out with me,” the veteran actor laughed. “And the same thing for Cayden, same thing for Grace. I’m like any other parent. I’m trying to figure out, like, ‘This is really neat. You should come be with me.’ ”
According to the official synopsis, the film “explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many.”
“Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865,” the synopsis continues. “Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America.”
Joining the pair and Miller, 42, are Luke Wilson, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Jamie Campbell Bower and Will Patton.
The new trailer for “Horizon” was met with controversy as several die-hard “Yellowstone” fans speculated that this was the project that led Costner to quit the show.
In a previous interview with the Hollywood Reporter, creator Taylor Sheridan, 53, said that Kevin “had this passion project he wanted to direct.”
“He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with ‘Yellowstone.’ I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did,” the “Yellowstone” showrunner said to the outlet.
The Paramount+ hit will end after the second half of Season 5. However, it is currently unclear how much of a role Costner is set to play.
Several X (formerly Twitter) users had mixed reactions to Costner’s passion project.
“Ok & when are we finishing Yellowstone since you did your little project,” one die-hard fan queried on X on Monday.
“Now that you’re done making the 8th Yellowstone spin-off can you go finish the real one,” another fan complained.
“But we can’t get a full season of Yellowstone?!” wrote a third outraged fan.
Other fans, however, appeared to support his new venture.
“It’s actually awesome that Yellowstone has afforded Kevin Costner the capital and opportunity to make his dream 3-part Western and completely halt production of Yellowstone in doing so because he wanted to make it so bad,” one fan remarked.
“Can we agree on two things: yellowstone is bad and this looks incredible,” a second person commented.
Part one of “Horizon” is currently slated to hit theaters on June 28, with Chapter 2 set for Aug. 16.
