“The Kind of Actor This Industry Was Built On”: Kevin Costner Praises His Most Iconic Co-Star
Like many actors with long and storied careers, Kevin Costner has shared the screen with some of the most iconic names in Hollywood history. Over the years, the two-time Academy Award winner has worked alongside legends such as Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Susan Sarandon, and Paul Newman—just to name a few.
Costner rose to fame during the late ’80s and early ’90s, becoming one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars. However, his career has had its ups and downs, often due to his relentless ambition. Projects like Waterworld, The Postman, and Horizon saw Costner pour millions of his own money into personal creative visions, often with mixed results. While the commercial success didn’t always follow, his willingness to take risks set him apart.
Despite the rollercoaster trajectory, Costner has always remained deeply respectful of the craft and those who shaped the industry before him. Among the many cinematic greats he worked with, one actor stood out to him as the embodiment of what Hollywood was built on: Burt Lancaster.
Lancaster’s final film appearance came in Costner’s 1989 classic Field of Dreams, released five years before his death at the age of 80. A towering figure from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Lancaster was more than just a leading man—he was a pioneer. He formed his own production company, collaborated with top-tier directors, and continually sought out roles that pushed boundaries. At a time when stars were often boxed into narrow character types, Lancaster resisted conformity and redefined what it meant to be a versatile actor.
Reflecting on their time together, Costner didn’t hold back his admiration.
“I’m glad we’re talking about Burt Lancaster,” he said in an interview with Front Row Features. “Because he’s the kind of actor that this industry was built on.” He went on to describe Lancaster as “a piece of manpower that knows how to command the screen,” expressing pride in sharing the screen with him in what would be Lancaster’s cinematic farewell.
“When Burt Lancaster took that part, it was really great to see,” Costner added. “It was at the end of his career. I have a fondness for him because he’s obviously a physical actor, and that’s been a lot of my stock-in-trade.”
There are certainly parallels between the two—both have played strong, physical roles and carved out reputations for taking creative risks. Still, even Costner seems to acknowledge that Lancaster’s legacy casts a long shadow—one that helped shape the very foundations of modern cinema.
