Kevin Costner: “The real history of the USA is the history of immigrants — the glory and wonder of the country.”
What they will see is the truth. I can’t predict which young people will watch it, but I can say with certainty that when they do, they will find something deeper than just old tales of cowboys and frontiers. They will find a sense of truth and humanity — the kind that reveals itself only when you look honestly at where you come from. This is what happens in the making of a nation. And no matter which country they come from, they will realize that what took place in the American West is not so different from the stories of their own ancestors — people who fought, who migrated, who dreamed of a better life and paid a price for it.
Let’s put an end to the myth that the Old West was like landing in Disneyland — a fantasy filled with adventure, heroism, and endless horizons. The reality was much more complex, and far more human. What happened out there was real: the uncertainty, the fear, the blood, the survival. It was a time when people had to make impossible choices, when every decision could mean life or death, when entire families risked everything for a chance at freedom. That reality shaped who we became as a nation.
For Costner, that truth is not something to be hidden or softened; it is something to be faced and understood. “We are the result of those who came before us,” he says. “The West was not built on myth — it was built on courage, on loss, and on the constant clash between hope and despair. That’s what made us, and that’s what still defines us.”
The actor believes that the story of the West — and of America itself — cannot be told without acknowledging its most fundamental truth: diversity. “The real history of the United States,” he reflects, “is the history of immigrants. That is the true glory of this country, its wonder. Every wave of people who came here brought something new — ideas, energy, resilience. Together, they built something extraordinary.”
To him, that convergence of different peoples and cultures is not only the source of America’s power but also its moral foundation. “We became great because we were open — because we were willing to learn from one another. Our diversity didn’t divide us; it made us stronger. The last hundred years of progress, of innovation, of art and thought — all of that came from the meeting of worlds.”
And yet, he warns, the risk today is forgetting. Forgetting the struggle, the sacrifice, and the lessons of the past. “We have to teach our children the history of our country,” Costner insists. “Not just the victories, but the struggles — the fight of their grandparents, the hard choices that built this land. If we don’t understand where we came from, we won’t know where we’re going.”
As he finishes his thought, his voice softens, but his conviction does not fade. “The West still calls to me,” he says. “Not because of its legends, but because of its truth. That’s the story I want to tell — the story of who we really are.”
