Kevin Costner looks back. “Without the ‘wolf’ I would be penniless today.”

Kevin Costner is considered one of the last true Hollywood stars. Even more than 40 years after his screen debut, he’s still on top. But Costner risked everything for one role.

What would have happened if Dances With Wolves had failed? According to Kevin Costner himself, it meant the end of his career.

The actor says so in an interview with “picture”: «Without the” wolf “maybe I would be happy today, but I’m broken – without a house, a car, a horse. I’m a player if I believe in something.”

For the blockbuster, Costner not only jeopardized his fees, which were more than 2.5 million francs at the time. He also put all his savings into the movie, which he also directed. The arithmetic worked: “Dances with Wolves” brought in more than 400 million Swiss francs at the box office and won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.

“Pants full and still in the saddle”

Such risks can not only be financially rewarding, Kostner says, but also shape one’s character: “True bravery is when you’re afraid of your clothes, but still in the saddle…”

With the movie, Costner became a Western icon. To this day, he maintains this image with his leading role in the blockbuster TV movie “Yellowstone”. According to media reports, he should be earning over a million francs for this – per episode. So Costner no longer had to fear bankruptcy.