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Because Kevin Costner has starred in so many great Western movies, no one could have been a better choice to lead the Yellowstone cast as John Dutton… until his decision to quit. Hopefully, his departure from Paramount Network’s neo-Western drama does not mark the end of his relationship with this genre.
If Clint Eastwood can still make shoot-em-up thrillers (of a historical and modern variety) well into his 90s, I cannot see why Kevin Costner should stop anytime soon. Let’s celebrate his acclaimed cinematic career highlights playing a 19th-century hero or an old-fashioned modern badass so far with this guide on how to watch the best Western movies starring the actor.
Silverado (1985)
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Kevin Kline, John Glenn, Danny Glover, Kevin Costner
What it’s about: Four misfits become travel partners en route to a town where they become heroes in the 1880s.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: Also one of the best Western movies on Netflix, Silverado sees Kevin Costner play sharp-shooter Jake, marking the beginning of his relationship with the genre.
How to watch Silverado
Dances With Wolves (1990)
Director: Kevin Costner
Starring: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
What it’s about: A decorated Civil War-era soldier befriends a Sioux tribe and learns their ways.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: One of Kevin Costner’s best ‘90s movies, Dances with Wolves, not only became a Best Picture Oscar winner but earned Costner an Academy Award for Best Director.
How to watch Dances with Wolves
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman
What it’s about: The story of how a burdened gunfighter became one of the Old West’s most iconic figures of legend.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: Kevin Costner reunited with Silverado director to play to title role of Wyatt Earp – a biopic that, despite coming out in such close proximity to another film about the eponymous Western hero (Tombstone) is remembered fondly for its ambitiousness and strong performances.
How to watch Wyatt Earp
Open Range (2003)
Director: Kevin Costner
Starring: Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon
What it’s about: A former gunslinger plots revenge against a corrupt landowner who kidnapped one of his cowhands.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: Costner would return to the genre from both behind and in front of the camera for Open Range – an action-packed adaptation of Lauran Paine’s novel.
How to watch Open Range
Let Him Go (2020)
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Starring: Kevin Costner, Diane Lane
What it’s about: A retired sheriff and his wife make a dangerous, single-handed attempt to rescue their young grandson after he is taken from their son’s widow in early 1960s Montana.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: While Kevin Costner does not see it as a Western, there is no denying that Let Him Go, which ends violently, is a heart-racing thriller about taking justice in your own hands (like many people did in the Old West) inspired from the novel by Larry Watson.
How to watch Let Him Go
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (2024)
Director: Kevin Costner
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington
What it’s about: The emotional turmoil of the United States Civil War, as seen through the eyes of a horse trader, his family, and his foes.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: One of Kevin Costner’s most ambitious projects yet is Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 – the first installment of a four-part franchise with an uncertain fate, since Chapter 2 was pulled from the upcoming 2024 movies schedule.
How to watch Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1
Waterworld (1995)
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: Kevin Costner, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Dennis Hopper
What it’s about: In a dystopian future in which the world is entirely submerged, a daring mariner reluctantly tries to help a woman and young girl search for a fabled dry land.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: While this post-apocalyptic action movie is certainly not a Western by traditional standards, it is easy to compare its tone and themes to some Western classics and Costner’s Mariner to some of the genre’s most iconic anti-heroic outlaws.
How to watch Waterworld
BONUS: Hatfields & McCoys (2012)
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton
What it’s about: The legendary, increasingly violent feud between two families living on the border of West Virginia and Kentucky.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: Kevin Costner earned an Emmy and Golden Globe for his performance as “Devil” Anse McCoy in Hatfields & McCoys – History Channel’s acclaimed, smash hit three-part miniseries.
How to watch Hatfields & McCoys
BONUS: Yellowstone (2018-Present)
Starring: Kevin Costner, Luke Grimes, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser
What it’s about: A family of ranchers work to protect their precious Montana land by any means necessary.
Why it is one of Kevin Costner’s best Western movies: Kevin Costner earned a Golden Globe for his performance as John Dutton on Yellowstone – creators Taylor Sheridan and John Linson’s neo-Western TV show that continues to captivate viewers beyond Costner’s exit with its grounded and gritty drama.
How to watch Yellowstone
I think most fans of the genre would agree that, on a Mount Rushmore bearing the faces of the four most iconic Western movie actors, one of them would have to be Kevin Costner.