Kevin Costner is currently working on his forthcoming Western film, Horizon, and he recently shared an important casting update. The film will star his 13-year-old son, Hayes, whom he shares with wife Christine Baumgartner.
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"He's very good," Costner tells People of Hayes' acting chops. "Hayes plays the namesake character that I actually play in the movie. He's 13 years old and the screenplay's been around longer than that."
Costner wrote the years-old screenplay with Jon Baird. He's also directing and starring in the film himself, so he's undoubtedly spending lots of time at work. Costner says he partly cast his son in the movie so he could spend more time with him.
"I kind of did it on purpose, so he could be hanging out with me," he says. "...I'm like any other parent, I'm trying to figure out, like, 'This is really neat. You should come be with me.'"
Horizon is being produced in four parts. Costner says part one is finished and he will begin production on part two in the spring. The film will tell the story of the expansion and settlement of the American West after the Civil War. For Costner, who is known for his Western-themed works (such as Yellowstone, Open Range, Dances With Wolves and more), this project is of great significance.
"Horizon is incredibly meaningful to me," he says. "It's really been the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's exactly what I want to do," he says. "I wrapped this first one, and it took everything I had, but I'm holding on to the rope and not letting go. In my career I've tried to choose not based on what was popular. I made the films I wanted to make."
Sam Worthington, Sienna Miller and Stranger Things' Jamie Campbell Bower have been confirmed as cast members. IMDB lists more members of the star-studded cast, including Jeff Fahey, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Thomas Haden Church, Michael Rooker and more.
Costner showcases his passion for the American West in another recent project, Yellowstone One-Fifty, which aired on Fox Nation this past fall.
