Kevin Costner Open to Non-Western Roles After Yellowstone Success: “Could Be Something Else”
Kevin Costner Says He’s Open to New Creative Directions Beyond Westerns: “It Could Be Something Else”
Following his departure from Yellowstone and his continued involvement in Western-themed projects, Kevin Costner is reflecting on what comes next—and it might not include cowboy hats or frontier landscapes.
The 70-year-old Oscar and Emmy winner opened up about his creative future. “I’m willing to do anything where I feel like what I’m doing is for myself,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be a Western—it could be something else. When something no longer interests me, or there’s a reason to move on, I’m willing to do that.”
Costner emphasized that storytelling is what ultimately drives him—regardless of genre. “You can write a short story or a novel, and it can live forever. Same with a short film. It’s about how you tell it and whether people can relate to it,” he explained. “That’s why some stories stay with us—we pass them down.”
Costner’s comments come after his exit from Yellowstone, where he portrayed patriarch John Dutton. His character was written off in the second half of Season 5, and Costner officially confirmed his departure last year. Since then, he’s focused on his epic Western saga Horizon: An American Saga, the second installment of which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and his History Channel docuseries Kevin Costner’s The West, which debuted in May.
“I hope I can stay relevant—not just to others, but to myself,” he said. “I can’t create something just to chase an audience. I have to make things that reflect how I feel—and hope others are moved by it.”
As for retirement? It’s not on his radar. “I don’t even think about retiring,” Costner said. “I’ll just move on to whatever captures my imagination next.”
He also acknowledged the uniqueness of his journey: “We’re all different, and we all have different paths. I feel lucky for mine. I’d like to think I worked hard for it, but not everyone can follow the same blueprint.”
Speaking on his documentary The West, Costner shared that it reveals the untold truths behind the stories he’s long been drawn to. “Everything that happened in Dances with Wolves, Open Range, or Horizon—those stories are rooted in real events,” he noted. “The documentary backs that up. There were slaves, captives, and betrayals of Native Americans. We kept doing it from coast to coast. The Westerns I’ve made are honest—they’re real.”
