Kevin Costner Explains How He Beat Robin Williams to One of His Biggest Movie Roles

Kevin Costner’s role of Ray Kinsella in the ‘90s movie Field of Dreams could almost have been played by Robin Williams, but Costner won the role for one very specific reason. While speaking about many of his iconic movies in a retrospect for GQ, Costner discussed his catching in the baseball drama, and how director Phil Alden Robinson wanted him for the role rather than Williams because he believed Costner’s more grounded reputation would add to the believability of the character.

While it is hard to imagine the comical genius of Robin Williams taking on the role of Kinsella, the much-loved actor did star in some powerful dramatic roles throughout his career. When it came to Field of Dreams, Williams and Costner were both in the frame to lead the movie, but the Yellowstone star was ultimately given the role because the director feared that Williams’ more quirky persona would detract from the emotional resonance of the movie’s core themes. Costner said:

“There was an interesting thing ’cause Robin Williams, bless his heart, there was a moment when I asked the director, I said, “You know, Robin Williams is a big star, as big as you ever wanna get.” So when he picked me to do it, kind of over Robin Williams, ’cause it seems like a natural for Robin Williams, and he said, “I’m pretty sure that Robin Williams hears voices in the corn. I’m kind of sure that you don’t. They’re gonna end up believing you, Kevin, because they’re gonna see how it works.”

Kevin Costner Made Field of Dream a Defining Movie of His Career

Field of Dreams was released in 1989, a year before Costner would find Oscar success in Dances With Wolves, and decades before he would score the role of John Dutton in Yellowstone. The story of Ray Kinsella, who builds a baseball field that attracts the ghosts of legendary baseball players, struck a chord with audiences to the tune of a $84 million worldwide gross, and became a pivotal moment in Costner’s career.

Although it was a gamble to put Costner in the role over a huge star such as Williams, there is little doubt that the decision paid off. Williams himself did not suffer for not getting the role, continuing to delight audiences with both his energetic performances and deep, dramatic roles right up until his untimely death. Costner, however, saw his career take a massive leap forward thanks to the film’s success, and when Dances With Wolves was released in 1990, it seemed that the writer/director could do no wrong.

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That turned out not be true, when subsequent releases including Wyatt Earp, Waterworld and The Postman failed to deliver in either box office receipts or critical approval. Despite that, Costner proved to be a Hollywood fighter, and eventually found his feet in the industry again with movies like Open Range and his central role in Yellowstone. Now the actor is taking a big gamble with a new Western project, Horizon: An American Saga, which he has partly financed with his own money and plans to release in four parts. The first movie recently received mixed reviews from its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, and will debut in cinemas on June 28, when exactly how much of a gamble Costner has taken will become apparent.