Who is Hayes Costner? Details explored as Kevin Costner talks about "selfishly" casting youngster in Horizon

Hayes Costner has recently come into the news for being cast in his father, Kevin Costner's epic Western drama, Horizon: An American Saga. The teenager has been cast in a very particular role as per Kevin Costner.

Currently, Costner is facing a lot of criticism for casting his son in his film, with the promotion of nepotism being the center of all the criticism. However, Kevin Costner has defended the decision to cast Hayes Costner and cited that he had a different selfish reason for casting his son in the film.

In an exclusive interview with Today magazine, Kevin Costner confirmed that he did not cast his son to get him into acting or kickstart his career.

"I have not shoved my children into the business. I realize there’s so many young actors that would just kill to be in this movie and I don’t want to take those parts away from them just ‘cause I can place my own children in," he said.

"But in this instance, it was a smaller part. I selfishly wanted him with me for the week, two weeks he was with me. We would drive to the set every day... he didn’t have a lot of experience, but he’s really beautiful in the movie.”

Horizon: An American Saga is Kevin Costner's dream project. He even invested a major amount of his own fortune in the film. Costner has been working on the project for three decades.

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Who is Hayes Costner?

(L-R) Lily Costner, Hayes Costner, and Grace Avery Costner attend the "Horizon: An American Saga" Red Carpet at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival (Image via Getty)

Hayes Logan Costner, 15, is the youngest of Kevin Costner's seven children. Hayes Costner is one of Kevin's three children from his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner. The couple were married for 18 years and finalized their divorce in May 2023.

Hayes Costner was born on February 12, 2009, in Los Angeles. As per reports, Kevin Costner stated that a cowboy character in a Western film inspired Hayes' name. Kevin Costner is an eminent personality in the Western film genre, and it is no surprise that he named his son after being inspired by a "great Western name."

In an interview with Today, Kevin Costner said how Hayes Costner was interested in sports from a young age. The Horizon: An American Saga director said he and his ex-wife tried to get all their children into the same Little League team to avoid going for three practices at a time.

"So poor little Hayes, who's in the middle, is having to play with 8 and 9-year-olds and he's like [7], and he can hack it. So there's gonna be this point where he's gonna go 'Why was I always forced into leagues?," Costner told Today.

Costner has tried to remain close to his children and took Hayes and his siblings with him for his film premieres. Details about Hayes Costner's role in Horizon: An American Saga have been kept under wraps. However, Kevin Costner stated that the role is complex despite being a minor one.

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About Horizon: An American Saga

Horizon: An American Saga is an epic Western film directed by Kevin Costner. The film is going to be released in two parts and will depict the settlement of the American West pre and post-Civil War.

As per the synopsis, the film will follow the violent history behind the establishment of the American West with a focus on the native Americans and the settlers. An excerpt from the synopsis reads:

"Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America."

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Keep an eye out for Hayes Costner's role when Horizon: An American Saga Part 1 premieres in theaters on June 28, 2024.