KEVIN COSTNER BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Kevin Costner was born on January 18th, 1955 in Lynwood, California with the middle name Michael to parents Bill and Sharon Costner.  His father was an employee with Southern California Edison and his job caused his family to have to move frequently.  He was raised in a below financially secure family but still managed a normal childhood, playing sports and even took up piano lessons.  
 
As a child, Costner became interested in writing and also sang in the church choir.  After graduating from Villa Park High School, he enrolled at California State University Fullerton and studied business.  While in college he took acting classes at night and graduated with his degree in 1978.
 
Costner then went on to pursue a job in marketing when on a business trip to Mexico he became acquainted with Richard Burton, a famous actor,  who advised Costner to follow his heart and pursue a career as an actor.
 
Costner chose to follow Burton's advise and quit his job, relocated to Los Angeles and found various ways to support himself while trying to break into the industry.  He finally had his chance to work on a film, however it was a soft core 'pornography' film and Costner was highly disappointed that this was the best work he could find.  It took nearly six years of patience and determination for Costner to finally get a decent break into the industry when he was cast on the film, "The Big Chill" (1983) starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and JoBeth Williams.  His scene never made it to the final cut of the film, however, when the director, Lawrence Kasdan went to make another film, "Silverado" (1985) starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, John Cleese and Brian Dennehy, he remembered Costner and chose to cast him in his next film.
 
His career has been on an upward move and he has also received a number of special honors throughout his professional career such as People magazine choosing Costner as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World and also chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.  Costner was also listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World.  He has also won two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.  
 
Some of Costner's later well known work has been in such films as, "The Untouchables" (1987) starring with Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, Patricia Clarkson, Billy Drago, Richard Bradford, Brad Sullivan, Clifton James and Jack Kehoe, "Field of Dreams" (1989) co-starring Amy Madigan, James Earl Jones, Ray Liotta, and Burt Lancaster in his final film role, the epic western "Dancing With Wolves" (1990) also starring Mary McDonnell, Graham Green, Rodney A. Grant, Tantoo Cardinal, Jimmy Herman, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Michael Spears, Charles Rocket, Larry Joshua, Tom Everett and Nathan Lee Chasing His Horse among many others, "JFK" (1991) with an ensemble cast including Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, Walter Matthau, Brian Doyle-Murray, Donald Sutherland, John Candy, Vincent D'Onofrio, Edward Asner and Jack Lemmon, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991) co-starring Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Morgan Freeman, Alan Rickman, Christian Slater, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane, Brian Blessed, Michael Wincott, Nick Brimble, Harold Innocent, Walter Sparrow and Sean Connery, "The Bodyguard" (1992) co-starring Whitney Houston with Debbie Reynolds, Gary Kemp, Bill Combs, Ralph Waite and Richard Schiff, "A Perfect World" (1993) opposite Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, T. J. Lowther, Bradley Whitford and Keith Szarabajka and "Thirteen Days" (2000) with Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp.
 
He has also stepped up to work as director and producer in such films as "A Little War of Our Own" (2011) and "Learning Italian" (2011) which he directs and stars in.
 
Along with becoming a highly successful actor, Costner also has a variety of business interests such as owning 100% of the Midnight Star Casino in Deadwood, South Dakota and in 1995 he bought the Ocean Therapy Solutions which is a company that develops oil separation machines. 
 
Kevin Costner has married twice, first to Cindy from 1978 through 1994 and he then married German model, Christine Baumgartner in 2004 and in total he has six children.  He currently resides in Santa Barbara with his wife where they raise horses on a 17 acre ranch.  He has also been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

 
Filmography

2011 Learning Italian 
2011 A Little War of Our Own 
2012 Django Unchained 
2012 Hatfields & McCoys 
2013 Man of Steel 
2010 The Company Men 
2009 The New Daughter
2008 Swing Vote 
2008 The Explorers Guild
2007 Mr. Brooks 
2006 The Guardian 
2005 Rumor Has It...
2005 The Upside of Anger 
2003 Open Range 
2002 Dragonfly 
2001 3000 Miles to Graceland 
2001 The Road to Graceland 
2000 Thirteen Days 
1999 Play It to the Bone
1999 For Love of the Game 
1999 Message in a Bottle 
1997 The Postman
1996 Tin Cup
1995 Waterworld
1994 The War 
1994 Wyatt Earp 
1993 A Perfect World 
1992 The Bodyguard 
1991 JFK 
1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
1990 Dances with Wolves
1990 Revenge 
1989 Field of Dreams 
1989 The Gunrunner
1988 Bull Durham 
1987 No Way Out
1987 The Untouchables
1986 Shadows Run Black
1985 Amazing Stories
1985 American Flyers
1985 Silverado 
1985 Fandango
1983 Testament
1983 The Big Chill 
1983 Stacy's Knights 
1983 Table for Five
1982 Frances
1982 Night Shift
1982 Chasing Dreams
1981 Malibu Hot Summer