Kevin Costner is an actor, but he is also a father. And he wants the best for his children (he is a dad to seven). This means that if they are interested in acting, he is going to do what he can to make that a possibility, which is exactly what he did for his son, Hayes Logan Costner (who is his second youngest). For those who don’t know, his son was cast as Nathaniel Kittredge in Horizon: An American Saga, despite being a total rookie.
Costner’s decision has raised a few eyebrows and according to Page Six, Hayes did not even audition for the part. Despite this, Costner is making no apologies for his actions. In an interview on the Today Show, he said, “He’s a beautiful boy, and he’s quiet.” Noting how he felt Hayes was the right person for the part.
Kevin Costner Defends His Decision To Cast His Son
In the interview, Kevin Costner also admitted that despite many other actors being more experienced, he felt that Hayes’ performance was impressive. He referred to it as “really beautiful.”
“I have not shoved my children into the business,” he said. “I realize there’s so many young actors that would just kill to be in this movie. And I don’t want to take those parts away from them just ‘cause I can place my own children in. But in this instance, it was a smaller part. I selfishly wanted him with me for the week, two weeks he was with me.”
In the same interview, the actor commented on the work he did with his son. “It’s a really complicated scene,” he said. “In the end, there’s a nobility, there’s an absolute fatalness about it. It’s what you want in a son. It’s what you don’t want a son to do, and at the end of the day, you’re proud that he would make that choice.”
Now that Hayes has started his acting career, we may be seeing a lot more of him in the future.