What’s more, films like “Dances with Wolves” have earned him box office success and a couple of Academy Awards, further cementing his legacy as a big screen behemoth.

So, when the A-lister was approached about playing John Dutton in Taylor Sheridan’s “Yellowstone” (a neo-Western TV series that was seen as a risk at the time), Costner could have been forgiven for having reservations.

Sometimes, though, risks pay off — and Costner felt that “Yellowstone” was worth the gamble.

In a 2022 interview with ComingSoon, Costner revealed that he is picky regarding his projects, and there are certain roles that do not appeal to him.

However, he has a history of starring in emotionally charged Westerns, and Sheridan’s series — which revolves around a dysfunctional family as they protect their ranch from no-good capitalists and crooks — appealed to his sensibilities. In this own words:

“I just needed to feel: Did this have a chance to 1) make me interested, and 2) Could an audience enjoy the same things that I was enjoying about it?

So, I had to kind of make a fundamental decision about that. I came to the conclusion, ‘Yeah, I think that people will really enjoy this.’

I didn’t predict that it would be a runaway success, but I’m not surprised at all that people do like it to the degree that they have liked it.”

“Yellowstone” has since spawned a franchise that keeps expanding, but Costner will not be part of its prosperous future.

That’s because his character on the show, John Dutton, was controversially killed off in “Yellowstone” season 5, and Costner’s relationship with Sheridan appears to have soured since then.