“Pain, Tears, and Hollywood: Kevin Costner Opens Up About Filming With Kidney Stones”
Filming a movie can be grueling, and Kevin Costner experienced that firsthand while working on the 2016 historical drama Hidden Figures. The legendary actor recently revealed that during production, he was battling kidney stones and had to rely on a morphine drip to manage the pain.
Costner reflected on the challenges he faced to deliver his performance as Al Harrison, the head of NASA’s Space Task Group—a fictional composite character. Despite the intense discomfort, he powered through most of his scenes. “I’ve never worked drunk on a set. I’ve never worked high on a set, but I was on morphine the last two weeks that I worked on [Hidden Figures],” Costner admitted.
The film tells the inspiring story of three brilliant mathematicians—Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—and their critical contributions to John Glenn’s orbit mission during the Space Race. Costner starred alongside an incredible ensemble cast including Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kirsten Dunst, and Jim Parsons. Directed by Theodore Melfi, Hidden Figures was nominated for Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars.
Hiding the Pain on Set
Costner didn’t just battle internal pain—he also had to conceal the visible effects of his treatment. “I worked 10 days under an IV drip. I don’t even know how. About three days I felt normal, and then something happened to me,” he said. The bruising from the IV meant he had to keep his sleeves rolled down, hiding the marks while performing. “I wanted to cry, but there was everybody watching, so I didn’t,” he recalled.
Despite the struggle, Costner’s performance as Al Harrison remains one of the standout roles of his career. Now, he’s hoping to capture that same magic with his new project, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. Costner both stars in and directs the ambitious western epic, investing a significant portion of his own money into the film. He envisions a four-part series, though the opening weekend box office of $11 million—far below the $100 million budget—puts the future of the project in question.
