Kevin Costner Wouldn't Call It a Comeback, But…
Don’t call it a comeback, because Kevin Costner sure wouldn’t.
"I wouldn’t, but listen, I’ve long given up trying to tell people ‘Water World’ made money, so I don’t care," Costner told Yahoo Movies over the phone.
Costner called to discuss his role in the recently released “Jack Ryan" reboot, one of five films the 59-year-old actor has slated for this year.
[Related: How Richard Burton Helped Kevin Costner Fly]
While it may not be a comeback in his mind, after 2010’s “The Company Men,” Costner did take a self-proclaimed break from movie-making to dedicate time to raising his young children.
"I think what you do is you have a journey. I don’t live in the movies; I live in the moment of my own life. I can see my kids chasing each other right now in the backyard—that’s my life. There are times when I feel like I need to devote to that, and there’s times when obviously as a man I have to go out and make a living and provide."
Apparently the fridge needed stocking, because Costner jumped back into filmmaking with both feet, starting with last year’s “Man of Steel” and plowing 5-pictures ahead into 2014. And now that “Jack Ryan” has opened, Costner’s remaining fare finds him back where we’re most used to seeing him: Carrying the picture.
[Related: '3 Days to Kill' Director McG Explains Why Kevin Costner Needs to be Told 'No']
Whatever you want to call it, we’re happy to have Costner back in the business and intrigued about each of his upcoming projects. So we asked Costner to breakdown each of his remaining 2014 films, starting with this weekend’s McG directed thriller, “3 Days to Kill.”
“3 Days to Kill” (co-starring Amber Heard and Hailee Steinfeld)
"I just love the character I play in it. A lot of memorable, memorable scenes in the movie of a guy who’s been kicked out of the CIA because he’s ill. He has an opportunity to make a certain level of restitution and like a lot of men, if they’ve let their lives fall into disarray, sometimes they feel like the best they can do is leave someone some money… inside that premise, there’s some really great scenes in it… [It] has a very high sense of humor inside its storyline, at least I think it does. I played it that way and didn’t play it that way on purpose, it’s just the writing lent itself. And by playing it really straight there’s things that are pretty amusing."
“Draft Day" (co-starring Jennifer Garner, Tom Welling, and Chadwick Boseman)
"I play the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. And it’s a really fun movie." In this Ivan Reitman directed comedy, Costner plays Sonny Weaver Jr., who’s tasked with selecting a top draft pick who will somehow change the luck of the struggling football team.
“Black and White” (co-starring Ocatavia Spencer and Gillian Jacobs)
"I just produced a movie called ‘Black and White.’ It was not a movie that anyone else wanted to do, so I used my own money." "It deals with racism. How commercial is that? I actually think it’s very commercial, but I couldn’t get anybody else to risk anything on it. The way I lead my life, at least entrepreneurially, I don’t fall out of love with something. So if I love something, I eventually find a way to make it. And that’s what I did."
“McFarland” (co-starring Maria Bello)
"That’s a true story in that vein of those [Disney] movies and a pretty inspiring little story about the migrant farm workers and the architecture of their life, and how sports and a single man makes a difference to them." Costner plays an inspirational track coach in a small California town.
See Chris Pine and Kenneth Branagh talk to Yahoo Movies about Kevin Costner’s staying power:
