An influential singer and an arresting actress, Whitney Houston left a void in multiple industries when she died. Hers was a life honored by many of her contemporaries, and during her funeral, Kevin Costner was determined to deliver a worthy eulogy for her, even after being told by CNN to shorten his tribute.
For Costner, the loss was a particularly emotional one. Together, he and Houston had starred in the 1992 romantic thriller The Bodyguard, which also marked Houston’s acting debut. While director Mick Johnson did not want to cast Houston, Costner was adamant in working with her, and from that experience, he gained a dear friend.
Kevin Costner recalls his determination to deliver a worthy eulogy for Whitney Houston
Recently, Costner sat down for an interview on the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by Dax Shepard. There, he reflected on his relationship with Houston as a colleague and friend. Costner had been one of eight people chosen to speak at Houston’s funeral when she died in 2012 at the age of just 48. It was a job he was determined to perform to the best of his abilities.
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“I had been working on this speech… and I tried to compile everything I wanted to do and finally crafted this speech,” shared Costner. “Somebody said, ‘CNN’s here, they wouldn’t mind if your remarks were kept shorter because they’re going to have commercials.’”
Costner would not budge. He went on, “And I said, ‘They can get over that. They can play the commercial while I’m talking, I don’t care.’” In the end, he revealed, “I started and about 17 minutes later I was done.”
Kevin Costner knew he and Whitney Houston would be a powerful force and celebrated her talent in the eulogy
While Costner had a starring role in The Bodyguard, he also served as producer. So, when director Jackson was uninterested in recruiting Houston, Costner had the weight to make sure the right person ended up playing Rachel Marron. Costner was won over after seeing Houston on The Ed Sullivan Show.
“She was my choice,” said Costner. “So I was the actor. I produced it. I picked her.” Houston was not able to have her usual entourage on set with her, but Costner assured her she would be taken care of. “And I don’t know what it was, but we had a moment,” he recalled, “and I realized that the world had a higher idea of who we were, so I basically embraced it. I was her imaginary bodyguard.”
“I started to guide her,” Costner went on to share, “and I wasn’t trying to usurp my director. But I made a promise to her.” He promised Houston that the film would be a hit. True to his word, The Bodyguard netted $122 million and proved Houston to be as talented in acting as she was in singing.
