Both Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood are unrivaled in the realm of westerns. But surprisingly, the only collaboration between the two giants dates back to 1993’s A Perfect World. However, given that the two reportedly butted heads during the production of the crime thriller, it’s easy to see why the two never crossed paths again.
According to Far Out, Eastwood’s adherence to production schedules and budgets clashed with Costner, who was coming off the heights of Dances with Wolves, especially after the former opted to replace him for one scene.
MovieIMDbTomatometer/PopcornmeterBox OfficeRuntimeA Perfect World7.578/84%$135.13M138 minutes
Clint Eastwood Resorted to Kevin Costner’s Body Double For One Shot
Clint Eastwood is notable for not going over budget and remaining on schedule, a streak he has maintained by avoiding off-screen conflicts with the crew and limiting scenes to one or two takes.
This approach, as a result, often requires complete dedication on the actor’s part. However, during the filming of A Perfect World, things went south after Costner failed to appear on set on time.
Instead of throwing a fit over Costner’s late arrival, Eastwood reportedly chose to continue filming with the former’s stand-in, and the body double even appeared in a brief scene in the movie. This, unsurprisingly, didn’t sit well with Costner, who apparently engaged in heated exchanges with Eastwood.
Although the specific details of their reported exchange on A Perfect World‘s set remain unknown, this further highlights why the Dirty Harry star has been successful in pumping out movies on a regular basis for decades. And it seems Costner learned the hard way that no one messes with Eastwood’s professionalism, irrespective of the lead’s stature.
Kevin Costner Baited Clint Eastwood into Starring in A Perfect World
While this experience explains why the two haven’t worked on a movie ever since, we really owe the Yellowstone star for Eastwood’s portrayal of Chief Red Garnett, who stars opposite Costner’s Robert, a prisoner on the run.
A Perfect World | Credit: Warner Bros.
Originally, the Gran Torino star had no intentions of starring in the movie. However, the Yellowstone star lured the actor into headlining the role of Red after he rewrote the character of Red, prompting Eastwood to step in. Speaking of this incident, producer Mark Johnson recalled (via LA Times):
In fact, he sat down with John [Hancock] and worked on the script for a couple of weeks–ironically, not to work on his character, but to work on the character of Red. So, in a sense, he could seduce Clint by giving him more to do.
Although the movie is pretty overlooked when compared to the duo’s other revered projects, it still remains a worthy addition to their filmography. It’s a shame their work relationship didn’t extend beyond this move.
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A Perfect World can be rented on Apple TV (USA).
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