Sky Talk - Kevin Costner

actor? I really don’t know how to describe it. It’s my third tour in Germany. And we now have our third album out. The whole thing has evolved into a pretty serious project.
Did you plan to make a business of music? No. I don’t plan success. I simply start something up – acting, film directing, music. I never knew where any of these things were going to lead me. Because, when you start something up, you always think it’s going to end in disaster. I actually studied marketing. Why didn’t I stay with it? Why did I decide to become an actor instead? That was one of the first things that could have gone seriously wrong. When I first tried my hand at directing, everyone said it would be a catastrophe. And now I’m into music. I never dreamed that this would take me to Germany, to Moscow, to South America. But here I am.
And people are paying money to hear you sing … Isn’t that amazing? The only thing I’ve ever really wanted to do is play music – wherever I happen to be at the time. For example, when I was filming on location in a town with a convention center, I wanted to go and sing there, because that was my way of communicating with people. This was actually all I wanted to achieve. I didn’t want to make recordings, but now we have these three albums. I never expected us to go big, and now we’re traveling around the world.
Why do people come? People come to see this weird guy Costner. Either to see him making music or to see him doing his act. But on the way home, they talk about the music. If they didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be so successful. All it is is hard work.
You talk quite a lot at your concerts, too. I tell the audiences about my songs and what they have to do with me. People like knowing where songs come from and what they mean. That’s my way of explaining myself to the public. Just going out there and singing, that’s not very friendly in my book.
Bob Dylan sometimes plays a whole concert with his back to the audience. But he has also given so many concerts and so many explanations of his behavior that people know what kind of a guy he is. He doesn’t need to give any more explanations. I just want to be friendly in the name of music. And I don’t want my music to stop the party.
What do you like best about your tours? I love the moment when I come on stage. But there’s something else, too. When I’m making music, I spend a lot of time with the other members of the band. We eat together, talk about our kids, and discuss life and politics. When a group is on tour, the people in it tend to reveal a lot more of themselves than they would otherwise. You get to know people better and, of course, you see the world. I love this life.
Other well-known actors like Tim Robbins and Jeff

Bridges also play in bands. Have you been to any of their concerts? I don’t know whether they do what I do. It would interest me to know whether they can captivate their audiences for two hours – like we do.
That sounds a little bit like rivalry. No, no. All I said was it would be interesting to see what they do.
Is making movies still the focal point of your existence? No. My focal point is my family. I have seven children. On the professional side, movies are definitely my creative focal point.
You once played a burned-out golfer. Do you like playing golf yourself? I do actually, but it takes too long. I prefer to spend the time with my children.
Except when you’re playing with the President? That’s right. I played a round with George Bush back in 1990. He called me while I was at a baseball game and suggested a game of golf. Shortly afterwards, a police car with a large escort came to pick me up. They closed the freeway just to make sure I arrived on time. I played with him and Andre Agassi. It was one of the most incredible days in my whole life. He and his wife Barbara were so nice to me, so open and entertaining. It was simply wonderful. That was a day I’ll never forget.
That was at the height of your career. A few flops later you’d fallen out of favor with the critics. But that love affair seems to be blossoming once more. Are you big in Hollywood again? I haven’t taken the temperature of our relationship recently. But you’re right; it did cool off some.
Are you still grateful to Richard Burton for persuading you to become an actor back in the 1970s? No, grateful is the wrong word. But he left his mark on my life. I met him by chance at an airport in Mexico. I was still hesitating about going into show business. I thought to myself, he’s a famous actor, maybe he could answer a few questions about what it’s like as a job, so I went up to him and asked. Besides, he had led a life full of quarrels, divorces and other dramas. I wasn’t looking for dramas, so I asked him: “Can I be an actor without the nasty bits?
And what did he reply? He looked at me and said: “You have green eyes.” Then came a long pause before he went on: “Yes, my boy, you can lead a life without any major upsets. But there’s always going to be some cuts and bruises. Those can never be avoided.”
Where are your bruises? Sometimes you take too big a bite of the apple, like I did in The Bodyguard. But then life comes along and takes a big bite out of you. That’s all part of your journey through life. If anyone wonders what they might have in common with me, the answer is: We all have our bruises.
Have your dreams been fulfilled? Life has answered a lot of my dreams, and not only the good ones.
What do you regret? I regret having played in films that were then cut to the point where they made no sense anymore. A film is like a dish of good food. If the customers complain to the chef that he’s forgotten the most important seasoning, he can’t reply: “Well, it filled your belly, didn’t it?”
Do you believe that you can only become strong if you have experienced failure? If you try your hand at many things, you’re often going to fail. I like trying new things. That’s probably my temperament. Every time I’ve really dedicated myself to something in business or entertainment, it’s somehow gotten big: the movie business and the fight against oil pollution. I tend to attract these things and I’m not a shirker.
That has gotten you into quite a lot of difficulties, hasn’t it? Sure, but only me, no one else. When I made Dancing with Wolves, I invested my own money in it. Everything I had. And it worked. Just like my companies that purify oil-polluted water.
Twenty years ago we might have talked about your new role as Superman. Now you’re playing Superman’s adoptive father. How do you feel about that? I am quite aware that time stops for no man. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that I’m now playing the father, and not Superman himself. I’m not sad about not being offered the role. It just proves that I’ve moved on in life. I haven’t stood still.