Esquire cover star Kevin Costner: These are his 10 best films and series

Standing for over forty yearsHollywood-Iconsalready in front of the camera and has celebrated various successes during this time - as an actor, producer and director. He is currently 69 years oldCover star of the– Reason enough to put a spotlight on ithis best rolesto throw.

Limiting yourself to just ten roles is almost impossible, because Kevin Costner has not only done a lot, but also a lot of good things. And so are legendary roles like those inRobin Hood – King of Thieves,Field of dreamsandOpen Rangenot even listed here.

-Films are almost always good films, and this includes crime thrillersPerfect Worldno exception. Costner plays the criminal Butch Haynes (Kevin Costner), who is from...breaks out and then takes 8-year-old Phillip hostage, with whom he then goes on the run. Phillip is rather shy, but Butch opens up more and more, who increasingly becomes a kind of father figure for him. But Chief Red Garnett (Clint Eastwood) and his colleagues are already hot on Butch's heels. Absolute Costner classic, well worth seeing!Available on Prime Video & Apple TV+ (both for a fee)

Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) was an Olympic skier and lawyer who was encouraged to achieve excellence by her ambitious father (Kevin Costner) until she ends up in the world of underground poker. She quickly realizes her talent for organizing illegal competitions and one day organizes her own poker tournament - and becomes successful. Her clients include actors, sports stars, businessmen - but unfortunately also the Russian mafia. This leads to the FBI raiding Molly's home one day - the beginning of the end. The most exciting thing about the story: It is based on true events. Kevin Costner only has a supporting role here, but he fills it perfectly with his screen presence.Available on Disney+

were particularly in vogue during the Corona period, but on the one hand there is always a clientele that is susceptible to them, and on the other hand there are conspiracy theories that never go out of fashion - including the one about the assassination of American President John. F. Kennedy. Did Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) not shoot US President Kennedy in the end? In any case, prosecutor Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is not convinced - and tries to get to the bottom of the matter. Absolute classic fromwith a great Kevin Costner - without question one of his best roles.Available on Disney+

A Kevin Costner classic that not everyone immediately has on their radar is the thriller dramaNo Way Out – There is no turning backfrom 1998 – it’s absolutely worth seeing! Costner plays Navy officer Tom Farrell, who was assigned to Defense Secretary Bryce (Gene Hackman). Meanwhile, Tom begins an affair with Susan Atwell (Sean Young) - without knowing that she is also having an affair with Bryce. Atwell is killed by Bryce shortly afterwards and the murder is supposed to be covered up. A photo is said to show an alleged KGB mole. But Tom can be seen on it. The whole story isn't really realistic, but it is exciting. Without question one of Kevin Costner's best films.Available on MGM+ (Prime Video Channel)

Another Kevin Costner gem that someone knows, and also one of his very first films: the dramaThe last testamentfrom 1983 - and it seems more relevant than ever, as it is about the consequences of a nuclear war. The film takes place in a small Californian town where the married couple Carol (Jane Alexander) and Tom (William Devane) live with their children - when an atomic bomb goes off. At first nothing else seems to have happened, but gradually it becomes apparent that death is creeping up. An absolutely frightening and cautionary film, Costner plays a father who loses his newborn baby due to radiation. Tragic!Available on DVD

Kevin Costner als? Who only sees the likeable actor from films likeDances with Wolves,Robin HoodorBodyguardknows, will have difficulty imagining Costner as a backstabbing murderer. But what makes a good actor is that he makes every role his own, and Costner also manages to do thatMr. Brooksquite excellent. In it he plays the wealthy entrepreneur and family man Earl Brooks, who lacks nothing in life. Actually. Because he increasingly feels an irrepressible desire to kill, to which he eventually gives in: This is the birth of the Thumbprint Killer. The investigators are in the dark until one day Brooks is photographed during a murder. But the photographer doesn't go to the police with the pictures, but instead demands to learn the craft of killing. Instead of blood and brutality, Mr. Brooks relies on the drawing of the characters, which pleasantly sets the thriller apart from other films - including Kevin Costner, who is perhaps the most likeable serial killer actor of all time.Available on Filmtastic (Prime Video Channel)

The dramaBodyguardis without a doubt one of the most formative films of the nineties. Whitney Houston plays the postman Rachel Marron, who receives death threats, which is why it is necessary to hire a bodyguard - the former secret service agent Frank Farmer (Kevin Costner). But Frank doesn't think much of aloof celebrities, Rachel doesn't think much of grumpy ex-secret service agents - especially when he turns her life upside down due to the completely inadequate security measures. But when the danger seems to become more real, she gives in - and the two very different stubborn people actually come closer to each other.Available on Prime Video, Sky & Apple TV+ (each subject to payment)

The first film Kevin Costner produced, directed and starred in: The WesternDances with Wolves, which won him seven Oscars. It tells the story of a Union officer (Kevin Costner) who is transferred to a post in the borderland during the American Civil War, where he makes friends with Native Americans, gets to know their life and culture and is ultimately accepted into their people . The Hollywood studios didn't see much profit in the film at the time, which is why Costner was forced to set up his own production company. The big studios must have been quite annoyed because the film grossed $400 million at the time - despite the rather unwieldy theme, the unusual length and dialogues in the original language of the American natives. Possibly isDances with Wolvesthe most important film in Costner's career - but without question (also) one of his best.Available on DVD

The only series on this list is, logically, the brilliant oneYellowstone, with which Kevin Costner has shaken up the series game again from 2018 and implemented one of the best series of recent years. The third season received the best ratings of any cable channel in the USA ever in 2020 - and that's no wonder, because the series is really fantastic. At the center of it all is widower John Dutton (Kevin Costner), who owns the largest contiguous ranch in the USA and has four children. One of them lives in an adjacent reserve of indigenous residents to whom John Dutton is a thorn in the side, which always leads to conflicts. In general: There are some enemies who want the Duttons' land - including windy entrepreneurs who smell big money. There are always conflicts because of this - and the Dutton family doesn't always resolve them peacefully. If you haven't actually seen Yellowstone yet, catch up!Available on Netflix & Paramount+

At number one on our list is the crime thrillerThe incorruptibles- the classic by director legend Brian de Palma from 1987. The cast alone is a revelation, because in addition to Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert de Niro and Andy Garcia are also in the cast. The film takes place in Chicago in the 1930s, i.e. at the time of Prohibition, when the city is firmly in the hands of Al Capone (Robert De Niro), who supplies the citizens with alcohol. When a little girl dies in a bomb attack that was probably carried out by Capone, the authorities realize that they finally have to do something - especially against corruption. And so Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is chosen by the Treasury to cleanse the police of corrupt officers and take up the fight against Capone. An absolute classic gangster film with a great Kevin Costner - for us the best film of his career.Available on Paramount+