Kevin Costner‘s son, Hayes, is opening up about working with his dad in Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1.
On Monday, June 24, Hayes, 15, spoke with Entertainment Tonight at the Los Angeles premiere of the film that Costner directed, produced and stars in. Hayes has a minor part in it.
“He trapped me,” Hayes said jokingly of his dad, 69. “I got to spend the whole day with him every day and just see him work. … I had such a blast.”
Hayes found the experience “really cool” and “amazing,” and when he saw the footage, “I was just really proud of my dad. He’s been working so long. I could just only think about my dad in that moment.”
When told about Hayes’ “trapped” joke, Costner replied, “I did. I figured out how to have him close. He’s never going to look this young, he’s never going to look this sweet and handsome. He’s just going to grow into a young man and he’s really good in the film.”
In a Today show appearance earlier this month, Costner called Hayes a “beautiful boy” and “quiet.” He cast his son in Horizon: An American Saga despite his stance on celebrities pulling their kids into their projects.
“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.”
While Hayes is a rookie in front of the camera, Costner praised him for delivering a “really beautiful” performance. In the film’s trailer, Hayes’ character is seen hiding his mother and sister in a secret door in the floorboards as their home is being attacked, seemingly sacrificing himself in the process.
“It’s a really complicated scene,” Costner said of the moment. “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.”
Costner shares Hayes, as well as Cayden, 17, and Grace, 14, with his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner. He also shares adult children Annie, 40, Lily, 37, and Joe, 36, with his ex-wife Cindy Silva, as well as his son Liam, 26, with ex Bridget Rooney.
Hayes and four of his siblings joined Costner on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet last month. They and attendees gave Costner a 10-minute standing ovation following Horizon’s premiere screening.
The first of four installments, Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 will premiere in theaters Friday, June 28.
