Kevin Costner denied Chris Hemsworth role in new project — cast himself instead

Chris Hemsworth once lost out on the role of a lifetime in a Kevin Costner film — to the Oscar winner himself.

“There was a movie, a script that I’d read and loved and was like, ‘I want to get that,’ and then someone said, ‘Kevin Costner has that [role],’” Hemsworth, 40, told “Entertainment Tonight” on April 11.

The Aussie star continued: “I’d love [to have] him as a director. I was like, ‘Goddamnit!’ [I spent] an hour the other day trying to convince him, and he was like, ‘I’m doing it, kid.’ Didn’t work. I didn’t get the part.”

Hemsworth said that the “abstract and interesting” film was just “a small story about a man and a woman,” but didn’t reveal what project it was.

The “Thor” alum noted that Costner, 69, was better suited for the role as it had to do with the “Western environment.”

“The Bodyguard” actor has starred on the neo-Western family TV drama series “Yellowstone” since 2018.

“It’s better seen in his wheelhouse for sure,” Hemsworth added, noting that the film had horses involved.

“[Costner] is a horse wrangler, and my wife, [Elsa Pataky], read [the script] and loves horses,” he said. “We have 10 or 11 horses back home and so she’s like, ‘You’ve got to do this.’”

The “JFK” actor, meanwhile, got candid about Hemsworth’s interest at Las Vegas’ CinemaCon event on April 9.

“It’s a love story, but as long as I’m still young enough to play it, I’ll play it. Chris will have to wait his turn,” Costner told ET at the time.

He joked that Hemsworth is “so handsome, and he’s so good.”

“He’s going to have to go find his [own] love story. [But] I’m glad he likes this one. If I reach a moment where I [don’t] think I could do that, I would [reach out]. He’s certainly one of our great leading men right now,” the “Dances With Wolves” director said.

The second half of “Yellowstone” Season 5 is set to premiere in November 2024 — for now.

Costner and co-creator Taylor Sheridan have had issues in the past, and the shooting of the final episodes were delayed by last year’s Hollywood strikes.

It’s unclear if Costner will return as John Dutton, but he recently said he would “like to be able” to return for its conclusion.

“I thought I was going to make seven [seasons of ‘Yellowstone’], but right now we’re at five,” he told ET earlier this month. “So how it works out — and I hope it does — but they’ve got a lot of different shows going on. Maybe it will [work out]. Maybe this will circle back to me.”