“Kevin Costner Had to Save His Face on Day 1 of Filming His Oscar-Winning Western: ‘Does He Know What He’s Doing?’ — A Moment He’ll Never Forget”
Kevin Costner Faced Embarrassing Setback on Day 1 of Directing Dances with Wolves, But Quickly Turned It Around
Kevin Costner’s love for Westerns runs deep, and it was this passion that drove him to make his directorial debut with the 1990 epic, Dances with Wolves. Taking on triple duties as director, producer, and lead actor, Costner stepped onto the set with high hopes of proving himself—but the very first day didn’t go as planned.
Despite being confident in the project (so much so that he refused to make changes even after three directors turned it down), Costner experienced a moment of self-doubt early in production. On Day 1 of filming, he made a technical mistake that threatened to undermine his authority in front of the entire crew.
“I was nervous enough being a director on it,” Costner recalled. “And I remember the very first day, the very first shot I set up was even wrong. That’s the shot you’re supposed to get right, because the whole crew’s watching you. Like, ‘Does he know what he’s doing?’”
It was a make-or-break moment. He debated whether to admit the mistake or just go through with it and hope for the best. But rather than let pride get in the way, Costner decided to be honest. He called for a reset and asked the crew to shoot the scene again—correctly this time.
That decision marked a turning point. Within a few days, Costner started feeling more at ease in his directorial role. Watching the unedited dailies gave him the reassurance he needed.
“I went, ‘This looks like a movie.’ I was desperately hoping that it would. I don’t know, I had never done one,” he said.
That movie didn’t just look like a film—it became one of the greatest Westerns ever made. Dances with Wolves grossed over $424 million worldwide on a modest $22 million budget and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner. It remains one of only four Westerns in Oscar history to win Best Picture.
Costner Ignored the Doubters and Backed Himself All the Way
Even before filming began, Costner faced heavy skepticism. Multiple directors declined the project, and some compared it to Heaven’s Gate, the infamous 1980 Western flop. The negativity got so bad that some insiders sarcastically dubbed his film “Kevin’s Gate.”
“They were calling it ‘Kevin’s Gate,’ even though they didn’t know that I put all my money into this thing,” Costner revealed in an interview. “I actually asked three other directors to direct it before me.”
But each director wanted to impose their own vision. One wanted to cut the Civil War sequence, and another criticized the inclusion of a White woman raised by Native Americans, calling it a cliché. Costner, however, refused to compromise. He stuck to his vision and ultimately proved the doubters wrong in spectacular fashion.
Costner’s journey with Dances with Wolves is not just a tale of cinematic triumph—it’s a story of persistence, risk-taking, and staying true to your creative instincts, even when everyone else is telling you you’re wrong.
