Kevin Costner Talks 'Hatfield & McCoys'

By Mekeisha Madden Toby

Special to MSN TV

Movie star Kevin Costner never does anything half way. Just look at History’s three-part miniseries “Hatfields & McCoys,” Costner’s first foray into television. Not only is the 55-year-old actor (“Dances with Wolves” and “The Bodyguard”) starring in the flick as Devil Anse Hatfield – one of the two men who started this infamous and bloody family feud – but he’s one of the producers. And he and his band, Modern West, did the soundtrack.

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Costner, who dons a leathered visage and a frighteningly full beard, is in good company with an impressive cast that includes Bill Paxton (“Big Love”) as his former friend and rival Randall McCoy, as well as Tom Berenger and Emmy winners Powers Boothe and Mare Winningham.

MSN TV caught up with Costner as he promoted the film and talked about everything from why he’s working with director Kevin Reynolds (“Fandango,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” and “Waterworld”) once more to why viewers should tune in.

“Hatfields & McCoys” airs in three parts Monday, May 28, at 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 29, at 9 p.m. and Wednesday, May 30, 9 p.m. on History.

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MSN TV: What made you want to get involved with this project?  

Kevin Costner:  Well, I had been asked a variety of ways, how much do you know about this story? And the truth is I probably knew a little bit more than the average bear. I like American history. So I got involved with it the way I do all the projects that I get involved with, I liked the writing. And I felt the authenticity of the writing. I was surprised by the violence. I was interested in what was really going on culturally at that point and being able to kind of immerse myself in that era.

What made you want to work with director Kevin Reynolds again?

I asked for Kevin to direct this movie, and they looked at me and they could tell I was really serious about it.  And they said okay. He has a very unusual eye, I think he’s an artist, and we had a really good document and a script. And I can’t emphasize that enough because that’s why I chose to do this. But then if you combine it with a very good cinematic style it can be an exciting offering.  And I thought that Kevin would give us that.

How much research did you do for the role?

I started to go a little heavier into the socio-economic issues that were going on in that time. We had come out of this terrible Civil War, and the repercussions of that lasted 50, 60 years, or more.  So when we came out of the Civil War there was incredible anger.  And people who think of Hatfield and McCoy, think of Randall McCoy and Devil Anse Hatfield. But the more you study, you understand that the children and outside people were really the provocateurs of this – of this feud that endured. So I kind of try to go into actual human behavior instead of putting my own sensibilities on it, I try to go back to that time.

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What was it like to work with such an amazing cast?

They were all skilled and really, really dedicated.  And I think all the actors, if you want to call them veteran actors, they all try to search out material like this and hope that it comes along. And the fact that we ended up shooting in Romania brought the cast even closer together because we were all a long way from home, the language was a barrier for us, and sometimes the food and everything else. And people really rallied around each other. This group has managed to stay fairly close and still is pretty much in contact with each other long after this movie has been over, and that’s quite unusual.

Were you a fan of Westerns on television like “Lonesome Dove” and do you feel the pressure to live up to something like “Lonesome Dove”?

You try to raise the bar on whatever you do because you’re trying to – in this day of having to deal with a lot of reality TV – you try to create something that can live in people’s minds long after they see it. And so I start with the idea that I don’t want to make something that can just be dismissed the next day.  That it’s maybe something you want to revisit.  Maybe it’s something you want to share just the same way when you hear a great song or read a great book you go, “I’m going to tell somebody about this.”

Do you think this is a good Memorial Day weekend option for men?

I don’t know.  I can’t speak to that. But I have to say if people show up to see what I’m doing that I don’t believe they’re going to waste their time.  I believe they’ll see the reason why I did it. You don’t want to waste people’s time.  I mean you know it’s Memorial Day weekend.  People are going to be drunk, right? So, you hope they find the Lay-Z Boy and they sit down and watch three nights of the “Hatfields & McCoys.”

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“Hatfields & McCoys” airs in three parts Monday, May 28, at 9 p.m., Tuesday, May 29, at 9 p.m. and Wednesday, May 30, 9 p.m. on History.