Summary
Kevin Costner has recalled having to film his 2016 Best Picture nomineeHidden Figureswhile on morphine, but never missed a day of shooting despite the pain he was in. Costner portrayed Space Task Group (STG) director Al Harrison, joining keycast members Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe in bringing the biopic of Black, female mathematicians at NASA to life. The movie received critical acclaim, with multiple Academy Awards nominations, including that of Best Picture. However, Costner’s time filming the movie wasn’t as smooth as his previous roles.
Speaking withPeople(viaEntertainment Weekly),Costner revealed that he was on morphine for two weeks while filmingHidden Figuresdue to painful kidney stones. The actor recalls never missing a day of filming, fighting through the pain to bring his role in the movie to life. Check out what Costner had to say about the ordeal below:
I’ve never worked drunk on a set. I’ve never worked high on a set, but I was on morphine the last two weeks that I worked on [Hidden Figures]. I had kidney stones and I worked 10 days under an [IV] drip. I don’t even know how.”
I didn’t miss a day of work — I’ve never missed a day of work — and then when I thought I was gonna be off it, a second kidney stone came, which I never had, and I was right back on it. So I sat in my trailer with a morphine drip in my arm.
I eventually had to have my sleeves down in the movie as opposed to rolled up because of that. I wanted to cry, but there was everybody watching, so I didn’t.
How Costner’s Hidden Figures Role Reveals His Dedication To Filmmaking
Costner’s willingness to work while on morphine and getting kidney stones treated shows just how dedicated he is to filmmaking as a craft. The actor is no stranger to making plenty of difficult films, such as directing and starring inDances with Wolves, or his former role as John Dutton inYellowstone.His latest endeavor is thecritically mixedHorizon: An American Saga, a four-part Western movie that includes funding from his own pocket. No matter what the actor makes, his involvement often runs deep and dedicated.
The actor working despite his treatment shows just how much he reveres filmmaking as an art form, as well as his faith inHidden Figuresoverall.The movie is an important biopic, highlighting the efforts of NASA’s first Black, female mathematiciansin a story that’s as informative as it is well-crafted. His partaking in the movie indicates how important telling this story was to him, so much so that he was willing to work during a time of great stress for his health. This reveals just how much he’s willing to sacrifice for the sake of making a good movie.
20 Best Hidden Figures Quotes
The best Hidden Figures quotes are almost as inspiring as the real-life hard-won achievements of the 3 groundbreaking women that the film is based on.
While some have criticized the movie for having a white savior narrative tied to Costner’s character, his work onHidden Figuresstill shows how much he wanted to bolster the story of the movie. Even though some criticisms can be made about the film, it’s clear the actor cared about what he was doing, enough that even kidney stones and morphine couldn’t stop him from his performances. With this story, it’s clear the actor is willing to do whatever it takes to make movies, highlighting his love for the roles he takes on.
Hidden Figures
Cast
Based on the lives of Katherine Goble Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, Hidden Figures tells the untold stories of the three African-American mathematicians and their work at NASA during the Space Race of the 1960s. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe star as Johnson, Vaughan, and Jackson respectively, with a further cast that includes Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, and Mahershala Ali.
