In the 1980s, it seemed that Kevin Costner could do no wrong in Hollywood. His star spiraled upward with such hits as No Way Out (1987) and The Untouchables (1987), and his All-American sex symbol status was cemented by the baseball movies Bull Durham (1988) and Field of Dreams (1989). Costner then embarked on his ambitious directorial debut, Dances with Wolves (1990), a revisionist Western that upturned stereotypes of Native Americans as "savages." Though the film received mixed reviews, it proven to be a winner both at the box office and at the Academy Awards®, where it was nominated for twelve awards and won Best Director and Best Picture. Soon, however, Hollywood's golden boy would embark on a series of missteps that would have sunk a lesser talent's career altogether.

Kevin Costner was born in Lynnwood, California, on January 18, 1955. He studied at the University of California at Fullerton and briefly took a marketing position before focusing on acting. He paid his dues by doggedly pursuing auditions. But his first "big break" turned out to be no career starter at all. His part in the thirty-something drama The Big Chill (1983) was cut down to a few shots of the actor's hairline, hands and suit. The director, Lawrence Kasdan, made it up to Costner by giving him the choicest part in the western Silverado (1985). From here, he would have his string of enviable hits, from No Way Out opposite Gene Hackman and Sean Young, to the Prohibition-era crime drama The Untouchables. Costner then followed up his string of 1980s hits with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), yet another winner at the box office.

But then came two big-budget fiascos: Waterworld (1995), about a watery, post-Greenhouse-Effect-melts-the-icebergs world, and The Postman (1997), about a post-apocalyptic America. Both performed poorly at the box office, the former being dubbed "Kevin's Gate," an allusion to the flop western that nearly scuttled director Michael Cimino's career. It seemed that Costner's penchant for epic-hero characters had run his ship aground.

Costner recovered somewhat with the romantic golf movie Tin Cup (1996), for which he reunited with Bull Durham writer/director Ron Shelton. And then there were 1998's Message in a Bottle and For Love of the Game, which performed well enough if not spectacularly. His performance in Dragonfly (2002) was also well-received but the film itself was panned by many.

Most recently, Costner has once again headed for Open Range, a Western he directed and stars in with Robert Duvall. Having received solid reviews thus far, Costner, now approaching his fifties, may yet be making his comeback. But if pluck, persistence and undying ambition does indeed pay, then Costner should be able to revive his career and reconnect with his audience once again.