Kevin Costner defends giving his son, 15, acting debut in new movie

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emails

Kevin Costner has defended casting his son in his new self-financed passion project film Horizon: An American Saga.

Costner’s 15-year-old son, Hayes, appears in the two-part film as a character named Hayes Ellison, who plays Sienna Miller’s on-screen son.  Horizon is a four-part Western drama spanning the 15 years pre and post the American Civil War, written, directed and starred in by Costner.

The Yellowstone Actor, who previously said he cast his son so they could spend more time together, has denied the idea that he automatically gives parts to his children.

“[Hayes] had never acted before and I don’t automatically give parts to my children because I know how coveted this is,” Costner told Metro.co.uk.

Seemingly aware of the discourse surrounding nepotism babies – children of successful parents who are given a leg-up in life – Costner said he didn’t want his children to take up roles that other people dream of.

“There’s young people that would do anything to have a part in a movie, and I want those kids to emerge. My children, if they’re not interested in the business, I’m not going to automatically give them something because I know there’s other people that this is a dream for.”

He continued: “I’m also a father and it was a part that wasn’t that long – and I wanted him to be close to me. I was away from home, I needed my family close to me, and it was a way for me to trap him. I thought he was just beautiful in the movie.”

The actor revealed that the connection between his son and the film runs deeper than the casting, and that he named his son after the character he conceived long ago.

“I had trouble making this movie, but for whatever reason I kept the name Hayes – [it] was part of my journey that I wasn’t going to let go this character, Hayes Ellison,” he explained.

“I started this in 1988 and I couldn’t make it, but I wouldn’t fall out of love with it. I don’t know what that says about me, but I couldn’t fall out of love with Hayes, and so 15 years ago I just named my son Hayes because I couldn’t let go of it.”

The Yellowstone star shares three adult children – Annie, 39, Lily, 37, and Joe, 36 – with his ex-wife Cindy Silva, as well as son Liam, 26, with former partner Bridget Rooney. He and his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner share three children: Cayden Wyatt, 15, Hayes Logan, 15, and Grace Avery, 13.

After premiering at Cannes Film Festival, Horizon part one has been mauled by critics, with one calling it the “dullest cinematic vanity project”.

“The film moseys blankly along and, aside from some mildly diverting moments, it spends 180 keeping you guessing as to when and whether it is going to be interesting,” wrote Peter Bradshaw in his two-star review for The Guardian.

The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney called the film “a clumsy slog beyond saving”, adding: “It plays like a limited series overhauled as a movie, but more like a hasty rough cut than a release ready for any format.”

Costner has revealed he mortgaged one of his four properties in order to fund the movie, and is on track to spend $98m of his own money on the first three movies. By the time he’s done with the fourth, he said he will have surpassed $100m.

Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 will debut in cinemas on 28 June, followed by Chapter 2 on 16 August.