Kevin Costner can now look back on a career in the film business spanning over 40 years, which has not slowed down after all this time, as the hit series Yellowstone and his current western epic Horizon prove. The John Dutton actor has already had a number of notable roles, which almost included one in one of the best war films of all time – and Costner still regrets that to this day.
Kevin Costner regrets turning down a role in Platoon, even though he had good reasons
Costner was originally supposed to play the role of Staff Sergeant Barnes in Oliver Stone’s 1988 war film Platoon. However, the role ultimately went to Tom Breneger, who starred alongside rising stars such as Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen.
As Oliver Stone recalled to Entertainment Weekly, this was due to Costner’s own decision, which had very personal reasons:
Costner passed on the role, I believe, because his brother was in Vietnam.
Watch a trailer for Platoon here:
Platoon – Trailer (English)
Later, Costner himself reflected on the decision and spoke out in favor of the film, which, among other things, awarded four Oscars including Best Picture. According to Far Out Magazine, Costner’s loyalty to his brother stood in the way of his acceptance:
The one role I regret turning down. My brother Dan was a Marine in Vietnam and had a problem with Vietnam movies that portrayed veterans as whipped guys. He’s very proud that he came back, went to college and started a family. In fact, Platoon was real and good. But my conscience lay with my brother.Where can you watch Platoon?
The cancellation ultimately did not harm Costner’s career, even though Platoon is still considered one of the best war films of all time. On Rotten Tomatoes, for example, the film has a critics’ score of 89 percent against an audience score of 93 percent. The Moviepilot community gave Platoon a strong 7.6 out of 10 points.
If you feel like watching Oilver Stone’s anti-war film again, you can currently find Platoon in the streaming subscription on Magenta TV and on the MGM+ channel on Amazon Prime Video. Otherwise, the film is available to buy or rent as video-on-demand from the usual providers.