Kevin Costner on his divorce "My children's hearts are broken"
After months of divorce battle with his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner, Hollywood star Kevin Costner opens up. In an interview, he talks about the emotional impact on his family.
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- Kevin Costner (69) returns to the big screen with the first part of his four-part work "Horizon: An American Saga".
- His son Hayes followed in his father's footsteps and starred in Costner's new western epic "Horizon".
- The Oscar winner now also gives an insight into his difficult divorce and the painful time for his children.
- Costner attaches great importance to a down-to-earth life and spends a lot of time with his children.
Oscar winner Kevin Costner (69) returns to the big screen at the end of August with the first part of his four-part work "Horizon: An American Saga". The western drama, which Costner worked on for over three decades, deals with the colonization of the Wild West. He not only took on the leading role, but also wrote the screenplay, directed and co-produced.
The stresses and strains of recent years, in particular the divorce from Christine Baumgartner (50), have clearly left their mark. In 2023, Costner and Baumgartner announced their separation after 18 years of marriage. As "Gala" journalist Sabrina Page reports, the Hollywood star may look battered, but he is still charming.
"Sometimes you want to say something"
The painful divorce battle, which dragged on for months, weighed heavily on Kevin Costner. The dispute centered on custody of their three children Cayden (17), Hayes (15) and Grace (14) as well as the amount of maintenance payments.
Costner said of the media coverage of his marital problems: "I don't read it. Because I know what the truth is. You know what I mean? Sometimes you want to say something to set the record straight or something. But I don't actually do that very often. People always want me to do it, but I'm not so sure. I just know in my heart what's true ..."
When asked if he will ever speak publicly about the separation, Kevin Costner becomes pensive: "It's pretty private. Because my children don't need to hear what I know. Their hearts have been broken. So they don't need to hear anything else."
Son interested in acting career
His family also played a major role in the filming of "Horizon". A particular highlight for Costner was working with his son Hayes, who was appearing as an actor for the first time. "It was great to have my son with me. He'd never acted before. I loved having him around."
But working with a teenager was a challenge even for the experienced Hollywood star: "It was complicated - but he accepted it. He also did some things of his own accord that were very nice."
Even though Hayes has hinted that he is interested in an acting career, Costner says: "He said he was interested - but I think the girls got him interested, plus he's a very good athlete."
Away from the glittering Hollywood world, Costner leads a surprisingly down-to-earth life. He describes how he personally drives his children to school, attends their games and prepares breakfast for their friends.
"I have a completely different life that has nothing to do with movies," explains Costner and hopes that he is a good father to his children.
"Horizon" at number one in the top 20 films
Despite his priority on his family and although Costner has been one of the greats in Hollywood for decades, criticism still hits him hard. He is particularly sensitive to negative comments about his pet project "Horizon".
"I thought I shouldn't care about those reviews, but I couldn't help but take issue with some of the negative things that were written."
He was all the happier when "New York Magazine" recently put his film at number one on a list of the 20 best films: "They made a list of the 20 best films, and 'Horizon' was number one. That made me feel good. I wish I was a stronger person, but it made me feel good."
He is honest about his new film project: "I can take advice, but I don't take it out of fear. I take it into consideration. But if someone told me that 'Horizon' wasn't good, I would say that I no longer trust their advice because I know it's really good."
Unusually quick release of the second part
According to "Spiegel", the already completed second part of the four-film "Horizon" series was due to be released in the USA in mid-August. However, the release of the second chapter of Kevin Costner's western saga has now been postponed - after the first film flopped at the box office.
The production company had planned an unusually fast release of the two films. However, after "Horizon: An American Saga" only grossed 23 million dollars in North American cinemas in its first two weeks, the emergency brake was pulled.
The distributors postponed the release to give audiences more time to discover the first part of "Horizon" in the coming weeks, according to a statement.
"Horizon" should also find its audience on television
When Costner was asked about the release strategy in May, he explained that the studio saw it as an experiment. "It was clear to me that the films should be released in quick succession. But I was thinking four, five months apart," Costner said. However, he said he was always aware that "Horizon" would ultimately have to find its audience on television.
"They'll split it into a hundred parts," Costner said in May: "That's just the way we live today. But it will also exist in the form of the four films. And that was important to me. That's what I paid for."
