Kevin Costner shares his approach on character development in movies

Kevin Costner, Academy Award-winning director, joined Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast for a live taping at New York City's 92nd Street Y, accompanied by his Horizon: An American Saga co-stars Sam Worthington, Abbey Lee, and Luke Wilson.

During the in-depth discussion, Costner emphasised his commitment to crafting well-rounded characters, particularly women, who defy traditional Western genre archetypes.

“When you start writing you go, ‘Where’s the woman?’ It just drove the story in every plot line,” he said. “It just seemed to me to be so easy. I mean, I just hardly couldn’t conceive of a scene that didn’t involve women or a young girl raised by a strong woman.”

Sienna Miller, a cast member, was praised by Costner for her "luminous" performance, which he claimed brought his characters to life, even though she was unable to attend the podcast tape.

“I make movies for men,” he continued. “That’s what I do. But I won’t make a movie unless I have strong women characters, and that’s how I’ve conducted my career. And I think that’s why I have a good following. I thank you women for dragging your men here. It was a Western, after all.”

Costner's latest project, Horizon: An American Saga, is a four-part film series, with the first instalment released and the second part slated for August.

The remaining two parts are in production. He directs and stars in the epic story, spanning 15 years of pre-and post-Civil War expansion. 

This marks his return to directing after a 20-year hiatus, following his Oscar-winning debut with Dances With Wolves in 1991, and subsequent directorial efforts in The Postman (1997) and Open Range (2003).

In recent years, Costner has focused on acting and producing, notably in the series Yellowstone, from which he officially departed on June 20.