An El Guapo Tribute: Kevin Costner Is F*cking Awesome! Pt. 1

An El Guapo tribute:

Kevin Costner is fucking awesome.

Oh sure, there are a lot of cool actors out there. Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr., Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, the list goes on and on. These are all actors who have had great careers but there are only a few who, when spoken about, deserve the moniker of being called “fucking awesome”. Kevin Costner is one of those actors.

In my first of a series of actor tributes, I want to celebrate the man known to all of us as Kevin Costner. Kevin is a dying breed in Hollywood. An actor who can play the good guy, the bad guy and the tough guy. While most actors of today barely look like they can hit their marks, Kevin can still show that he's one of the greatest actors this generation has ever seen. He's played a cowboy, a baseball player, a bodyguard, and a serial killer. His box office gross is north of $1.4 billion dollars. The man can write and direct. From movies to music, Kevin Costner is fucking awesome.

Kevin Costner was born January 18^th, 1955 in Lynwood, California. Growing up in various parts of California, it wasn't until college that he decide to pursue acting. At the age of 19, he got his first role in Sizzle Beach U.S.A., but that film wasn't released until after he became a star. It wasn't until 1985 when he appeared in Silverado did Hollywood and movie goers stand up and take notice about this rising star. After his breakout success with Dances With Wolves, Kevin has been one of the most entertaining actors to ever hit the big screen. In part 1 of my tribute, let's take a look back at some of the earlier kick ass films of Kevin Costner.

Silverado (1985)

Costner's breakout role where he played one of four lawful outlaws alongside Danny Glover, Kevin Kline and Scott Glenn. The movie is about cowboys defeating corrupt ranchers and evil sheriffs. It's the usual cowboy plot where good triumphs over evil with the help of a gun. This is the first of many roles where Kevin gets to sit on a horse and look awesome while doing it. Kevin even owns a casino in Deadwood, South Dakota called The Midnight Star, named after the saloon in the movie. Why would he do that? Because he's a man's man.

The Untouchables (1987)

Nobody but Kevin Costner could fill the real man shoes of Robert Stack's depiction of Eliot Ness. Alongside a star studded cast that included Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith, The Untouchables is still as entertaining today as it was 21 years ago. Even after Connery is killed, the movie still holds up thanks to the fucking awesomeness of Kevin Costner. It's also the last time we'll ever see Billy Drago in a mainstream movie.

Ya. See. You're outnumbered, see? It's me, Kevin Costner. Ya. Ya.

Bull Durham (1988)

For the first time in Kevin's career he'll get to experience what it's like for a horse to ride him when he stars alongside the female version of Lion-O, Susan Sarandon, in this romantic baseball comedy. The movie actually had a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but there are those critics who have to drop that number so they can try and stand out. Doesn't matter, since it's still heralded as one of the best sports movies of all time and helped to cement Kevin's status as a leading man.

Wanna see what else I can do with this baseball bat?

Field of Dreams (1989)

"If you build it, he will come." was the phrase that helped catapult this Costner tear jerker to just over $84 million dollars worldwide. A touching story about Ray Kinsella who hears voices in his head. Because of the voice he keeps hearing, along with a vision in his head, he begins to build a baseball diamond in his corn field. The ending is one of the most heartwarming moments in cinema. The movie was nominated for three Oscars and was one of the last films to feature the bitchin' Burt Lancaster.

Dances With Wolves (1990)

If you don't like this movie then you're either retarded, or an asshole. Either way, I want you off of this website. Dances With Wolves is Kevin's masterpiece (silly, since they're all masterpieces), and earned him 7 Oscar statues. That's right, 7. The movie is so badass it's even been preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress because of its cultural and historic significance. The Sioux nation have even adopted Costner as an honorary member, and the film went on to gross over $424 million dollars worldwide. Kevin even did his own stunt work during the buffalo hunt. Why? Because he's Kevin Costner.

Lt. John Dunbar learns about Tatanka and speaking the native tongue of the Sioux people when he befriends Kicking Bird, (Graham Greene) and later falls for the adopted Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell). Stranded in a remote outpost, Dunbar finds out that the Sioux are not the savages his army portray them to be. The movie has more memorable scenes than I can put into this article, including one with his new friend Two Socks the wolf, and the scene where he is arrested by his fellow soldiers who think Dunbar is a deserter. Boy, I couldn't wait for that Spivey asshole to get his. I think I've seen this movie over twenty times and I'll never get sick of it. If there's a nuclear war, only two things are guaranteed to survive because of how durable they are; cockroaches and Dances With Wolves.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

Ok, so he loses his English accent like, ten minutes into the movie. So what? It's Kevin Costner on a horse shooting people with flaming arrows. And who can forget the surprise at the end with Connery? Costner vs. Alan Rickman alongside Morgan Freeman? Sign me up!

The Bodyguard (1992)

Who better to protect a drugged up coke whore than Kevin Costner? Despite the Whitney song, "I Will Always Love You" managing to make even cat sex sound like Frank Sinatra, The Bodyguard once again showed Kevin as a bad motherfucker, kicking ass and taking names. It's a shame he couldn't actually save the real Whitney from her downward spiral later in life. Maybe she should have hired Kevin on full time, cuz 'ol Kev would have slapped the shit out of Bobby Brown.

A Perfect World (1993)

Clint Eastwood AND Kevin Costner in the same movie? Was the universe equipped to handle two powerful forces in one film? I guess it was because this is one of Costner's best movies and a personal favorite. Which is a stupid thing to say because they're all personal favorites. Costner is Robert 'Butch' Hayes, an outlaw on the run from U.S. Marshall Red Garnett (Eastwood). Butch strikes up a friendship with his capture and becomes the father figure the boy never had. It's a great story, and you should rent it if you haven't seen it.

This concludes Part 1 of Kevin Costner is Fucking Awesome. Click HERE for Part 2 where I go over the second half of Kevin's career starting with Wyatt Earp (even Waterworld) and ending with his country band, Modern West.

Comment below on how fucking awesome Kevin Costner is or e-mail: george@latinoreview.com

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