Why Kevin Costner Chose Himself Over Chris Hemsworth for 'Horizon' Role

Since his 1990 feature directorial debut Dances With Wolves, Kevin Costner has displayed his talents as an actor as well as a director working in front of and behind the camera. For the upcoming two-part epic Western film Horizon: An American Saga, the Yellowstone star is wearing both director and lead actor hats once again. It's a role that Costner placed himself in even after some pleading from Chris Hemsworth. 

Hemsworth reflected on losing out on the part in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. 

"There was a movie, a script that I’d read and loved and was like, 'I want to get that,' and then someone said, ‘Kevin Costner has that [role],'" the Aussie actor recounted said. "I’d love [to have] him as a director. I was like, 'Goddamnit!' [I spent] an hour the other day trying to convince him, and he was like, 'I’m doing it, kid.' Didn’t work. I didn’t get the part."

Costner told ET his side of the story and explained why he opted to make himself the star of his own movie. "It’s a love story, but as long as I’m still young enough to play it, I’ll play it," he stated plainly. "Chris will have to wait his turn."

Still, Costner heaped praise on Hemsworth and encouraged him to star in his own major movie down the line. "He's so handsome and he's so good," he said. "He's going to have to go find his [own] love story. [But] I'm glad he likes this one." 

"If I reach a moment where I [don't] think I could do that, I would [reach out]," he added. "He's certainly one of our great leading men right now."

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 hits theaters June 28, with Chapter 2 arriving later this summer on Aug. 16.