Kevin Costner was actually considered to be something of a sex symbol in his day; sort of. He appeared alongside Whitney Houston in The Bodyguard, after all, and so for a generation of female admirers said role ensured him a place as something of a Prince Charming. Not quite so much for that scene in Waterworld in which he p*sses into a bottle. Nowadays, it's weird to think that anybody might have ever thought of Costner as being particularly sexy; there's an inarguable, all-American ordinariness about him. What's worse, the world still never seemed to reach a definitive conclusion on whether or not the man could act, which has - in turn - relegated him to the pantheons of polarising. There is evidence that he can "act," albeit in a rather emotionless way. Dances With Wolves, perhaps his greatest achievement as an actor, director and writer, offers up Costner at his on-screen best. But there are a good number of performances that feel like proof of the opposite: Robin Hood, The Postman... like watching a wooden plank painted with a face.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
