Kevin Costner’s career has been a roller coaster since Dances With Wolves 34 years ago.

34 years since his Oscar-winning epic Western Dances With Wolves first hit theaters, fans of film star Kevin Costner need to come to terms with a sad reality about his career arc.

Indeed, accomplished actor, writer, and director Costner is one of the more recognizable figures in the industry, having taken part in a great number of both award-winning films and box office blockbusters.

The most astonishing attribute of Costner’s rise to fame has been his alleged aptitude for every aspect of filmmaking. In fact, that particular reputation often doesn’t bear up to specific analysis.

Kevin Costner started his acting career during the 1980s and established himself immediately as a striking film presence. After several lesser roles, he landed the starring role of Eliot Ness in The Untouchables.

This came before a number of successful releases, including the sports films Field of Dreams and Bill Durham. This success led to the foundation of Tig Productions, which allowed him to produce and direct Dances With Wolves.

The film’s success established Costner’s status as an industry polymath. But the last couple of decades have silently disagreed with that assertion.

Kevin Costner Is Not A Great Director, Despite Dances With Wolves

Gaining a Best Director Oscar, as was the case with Costner for Dances With Wolves, is already an achievement worthy of praise.

That this acclaim came with his maiden effort as a director encouraged many to proclaim Costner as the new all-around movie master, akin to old-time actor-director greats like Orson Wells.

The uncomfortable truth is that a closer look at Costner’s filmography reveals that, as a director, he has never been able to replicate the popularity of Dances With Wolves. In reality, as impressive as that film is, his subsequent directorial work is both limited and unimpressive.

Despite his stature as a great director, Costner has directed only four films. That’s not all – Dances With Wolves remains, to date, his most critically acclaimed and commercially successful film.

The Postman was a financial failure, while Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 tanked, and Open Range – which fared well with critics – grossed less than 20% of what Dances With Wolves managed, on the same budget.

If all the other elements of the film are taken together, it calls into question whether Costner really was as unequivocally great of a filmmaker instead of less than totally complete in his mastery of this particular element of filmmaking.

Horizon Confirms The Truth About Kevin Costner’s Directing

The publication of Horizon confirms Costner’s troubles as a director after Dances with Wolves. The picture, a sweeping epic Western and a personal passion project for Costner, is described as the first of a trilogy of films chronicling the American West over a 12-year period prior to and following the American Civil War.

The ambition is hard to overestimate. However, as the evidence from Chapter 1 has indicated, the end result is far from perfect.

Utilizing similar themes as Westerns such as Dances With Wolves and Open Range, the hugely scaled Horizon was faulted for being too broad in scope with too many singular plot threads. As the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus states:

“Kevin Costner doesn’t lack for ambition as he sketches this frontier saga across the widest of canvases, but Horizon’s first chapter proves too diffuse…for it to satisfy as a self-contained endeavor.”

This opinion is reflected in the film’s mixed critical reception (48% positive) and financial failure ($36.1 million on a $50 million budget). Costner’s pivotal position places all culpability squarely on his shoulders, while the film’s alleged incoherence reflects a production that lacked clear direction.

Costner’s Biggest Successes Have Come As An Actor

While Dances With Wolves sealed his status as a productive filmmaker, the fact of Costner’s career is that he is a far more complete performer.

Not only has he acted in many films that have become part of popular culture, but he also has a long resume in front of the camera than behind it. Wyatt Earp, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Tin Cup, and Man of Steel remain some of the various performances of Costner etched in the minds of people for ages.

He has shown he can pull off his dominance on the small screen, too, performing to crowd-swaying acclaim in Taylor Sheridan’s juggernaut series Yellowstone.

Dances With Wolves demonstrated that Kevin Costner is not a bad director. In truth, there are flashes in all of his films that demonstrate his indisputable talent when he has complete control of the production.

However, given that his directorial CV only includes four released pictures, just one of which has been an absolute hit, it appears that a reappraisal of his career is required.

Kevin Costner’s career has witnessed incredible highs and lows since his breakout picture “Dances with Wolves” in 1990, from Academy Award-winning grandeur to box-office disappointments to a return to television.

The Kevin Costner voyage through Hollywood is an absorbing exploration of the complexities of success, fleeting fame, and endless reinvention. Here is a full rundown of his three-decade-long career, warts and all.

With the success of “Dances with Wolves,” Costner reached the pinnacle of Hollywood, after having taken home a total of seven Oscars, including those for Best Picture and Best Director. The picture nailed his status both as a recognized performer and as a known director.

He went on to have box-office success with “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” in 1991 and “The Bodyguard” in 1992, thereby solidifying his role as one of the most out-front leading men of his time who headlined high-budgeted films.

By the middle of the 1990s, however, his career began to go on a downward turn. Films like “Water world” in 1995 and “The Postman” in 1997 were just incredibly major flops. “Water world,” noted as one of the most expensive movies ever produced at that time, was troubled by on-set problems during production, such as going over budget and accidents.

While it eventually made even thanks to international box office receipts and home video sales, it was initially regarded as a disaster and a significant step back for Costner.

“The Postman,” which he also directed, was a critical and commercial flop, mocked for its excessive length and perceived self-indulgence. These two consecutive flops represented a watershed moment in Costner’s career, transforming him from an A-list actor to one whose box office appeal was questioned.

Following these losses, Costner took a step back to reconsider his career options. He switched away from directing and toward playing in smaller, character-driven movies. He appeared in “For Love of the Game,” a baseball drama directed by Sam Raimi, in 1999.

While not a great box office hit, it drew plaudits for Costner’s performance, which reminded fans of his ability to play nuanced, human characters.

During the early 2000s, Costner continued to take on an array of roles, including White House adviser Kenny O’Donnell in “Thirteen Days” about the Cuban Missile Crisis in 2000. This generally received critical acclaim for its tense historic drama and for the screen work of Costner.

This was followed by another dramatic turn in Costner’s career when he jumped to television as that medium was gaining more credibility with the rise of premium cable dramas. He played Devil Anse Hatfield in the 2012 History Channel miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys.”

The show was wildly popular, drawing record ratings and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Costner.

This was a huge comeback for Costner, demonstrating that he could still captivate audiences and give engaging performances.

With this success, Costner continued working in films and television alternatively, doing supporting roles in “Man of Steel” and “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit”, larger roles in films like “Black or White”, where he played a bitter fight for the custody of his biracial granddaughter.

This earned him kudos for essaying such a socially relevant subject with finesse and generating an impactful performance.

2018 saw Costner play arguably his most iconic role to date: the character of John Dutton in the series “Yellowstone” on Paramount Network.

This drama was created by Taylor Sheridan, and it followed the Dutton family through their perpetual disputes over the family’s large property in Montana.

“Yellowstone” became an instant cultural phenom, luring millions onto its wagon and rejuvenating Costner’s career all over again.

Costner shone bright as the gruff, troubled patriarch with enthusiasm that sent audiences thrilled and did wonders for his praise. Success with “Yellowstone” had him back in the spotlight but also proved he can bank and turn with times in an ever-changing tide of entertainment.

The success has spawned a number of spin-offs and an expanded universe, proving the viability for a long-form narrative in a television format that leverages his various talents as an actor and producer.

With “Yellowstone,” Costner has picked up a new generation of followers and proved that he’s still a force to be dealt with in Hollywood.

Besides the ups and downs in his career, Costner has struggled with personal demons. His 1994 divorce from his first wife, Cindy Silva, was highly publicized at the time and ranked as one of the most expensive divorces in Hollywood history.

He has kept his life as private as possible given the personal adversity and has focused his attention on his family and other interests outside of acting: namely, music and philanthropy.

Long active in humanitarian causes, Costner has involved himself in campaigns that have ranged from environmental protection to aid for Native American communities, several of which reflect themes that have cropped up regularly in his films.

His band, Kevin Costner & Modern West, has also allowed him to pursue his passion for music, releasing numerous albums and traveling widely.

As Kevin Costner continues to work in Hollywood, his legacy as an actor, director, and producer is safe.His career arc of early success, midcareer troubles, and a late-career rebound is illustrative of perseverance and the necessity to adjust to shifting circumstances.

Costner’s acting in “Yellowstone” and further investment in the ever-expanding universe of the series are a testament to the fact that he is not about to finish stamping his presence in the entertainment arena.

This actor managed to renew himself, finding new ways of storytelling that keep him relevant while an openness to risks both in film and television has kept his career dynamic and influential.

Going forward, Costner has spoken about plans to direct again-ideas such as “Horizon,” a Western epic he has been working on.

This project-reportedly meant to explore the settlement of the American West over a 15-year period-finds him back in the genre that defined much of his career and could prove a fitting swansong to his highly successful Hollywood career.

Kevin Costner has truly had one hell of a career: iconic successes, memorable flops, and stunning revivals. From dizzying highs with “Dances with Wolves” to the difficult times immediately following “Water world” and “The Postman,” Costner has survived the ups and downs of Hollywood by hanging on tight and believing in his work.

The new successes he has had with TV, particularly “Yellowstone,” are a revelation that he is still relevant and versatile in an ever-changing market.

Throughout it all, Costner has remained stalwart in his devotion to the subjects that have always captivated him: the complexity of the human spirit, the rugged beauty of the American West, and the power of narrative.

Kevin Costner’s career is the very definition of such a runaway engine of reinvention; no matter how many detours one may make on his journey, there’s always that perfect role or story around the corner.