Yellowstone star Kevin Costner has admitted he “selfishly” cast his own son Hayes in his epic new blockbuster, Horizon.
The 15-year-old actor is part of a star-studded cast that also includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, his former Yellowstone co-star Danny Huston and many more.
Former lead of the hit Paramount Network drama Kevin, 69, steps into the lead role as well as the director’s chair for the most ambitious Hollywood Western in years.
Hayes will portray Nathaniel Kittredge in the first of a projected four-part saga, landing the coveted role without an audition.
Kevin admitted the decision was “selfish”, but added: “He’s a beautiful boy, and he’s quiet. And I have not shoved my children into the business.”
His son’s role only took a couple of weeks to film, the Oscar-winner explained, and he wanted to spend that time together.
Opening up about filming with Hayes on the Today show, Kevin recalled: “But, in a sense, it was a smaller part.
“I selfishly wanted him with me for the week, two weeks, he was with me. And we would drive to the set every day and he would whisper.”
By Kevin’s own admission, Hayes didn’t have much experience in front of the camera before taking on the role.
However, his famous dad insists he gives a “really beautiful” performance with limited screen time.
“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.”
Horizon has been Kevin’s passion project for years. In fact, it’s taken the Hollywood star so long to get the film off the ground that his character served as inspiration for what he named his son.
“I named him after the character I play in this. My character’s name is Hayes Ellison,” Kevin told ET in April.
“And I named Hayes that character. So I was watching him grow up and I was thinking, ‘Man, I better get with it and make this movie’.”
