Kevin Costner -
The Bodyguard |
Kevin was born in Lynwood, California
on January 18, 1955, the third child of Bill Costner, a ditch digger and
ultimately an electric line servicer for Southern California Edison, and
Sharon. His older brother, Dan, was born in 1950. A middle brother died
at birth in 1953. His Dad's job required him to move regularly, which caused
Kevin to feel like an Army kid, always the new kid at school, which led
to him being a daydreamer. As a teen he sang in the Baptist church choir,
wrote poetry, and took writing classes. At 18, he built his own canoe and
paddled his way down the rivers that Lewis & Clark followed.
Despite his present height, he was only
5'2" when he graduated high school. Nonetheless, he still managed to be
a basketball, football, and baseball star. In 1973, he enrolled at California
State University at Fullerton, where he majored in business. During that
period, Kevin decided to take acting lessons five nights a week. He graduated
with a business degree in 1978 and married his college sweetheart, Cindy
Silva. He initially took a marketing job in Orange County. Everything changed
when he accidentally met Richard Burton on a flight from Mexico. Burton
advised him to go completely after acting if that is what he wanted. He
quit his job and moved to Hollywood soon after. He drove a truck, worked on a deep sea
fishing boat, and gave bus tours to stars' homes before finally making
his own way into the films. After making one soft core sex film, he vowed
to not work again if that was the only work he could do. He didn't work
for nearly six years, while he waited for a proper break. That break came with "The Big Chill", even
though his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor -- he was remembered
by director Lawrence Kasdan when he decided to make "Silverado". Costner's
career took off after that.
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