The Hollywood Gentleman With a Secret List of Enemies

Kevin Costner has always carried himself like the quintessential Hollywood gentleman.

His career is a parade of iconic films — The Bodyguard, Dances with Wolves, Field of Dreams, and Yellowstone.

He is remembered for his steady gaze, his commanding presence, and the way he can turn a Western role into something almost mythological.

But Hollywood is not a fairytale.

Behind the smiles on red carpets and the polite interviews, Costner has endured rivalries, creative clashes, and bitter disappointments.

Over the years, whispers have grown louder about the people he simply cannot stand — colleagues whose styles clashed with his, rivals who stole roles he coveted, or creative partners who betrayed his trust.

For decades, Costner remained discreet.

Yet those who worked alongside him, on sets that cost millions and schedules that ran into chaos, tell a different story.

Here, revealed in full, are the five figures in Hollywood Kevin Costner allegedly dislikes most — and the stories behind each falling-out.

1.Richard Gere — The Rivalry That Refused to Die

In the late 1980s, two names dominated casting rooms: Kevin Costner and Richard Gere.

They were both tall, charismatic, and capable of embodying the romantic hero.

But where Costner embodied rugged Americana, Gere carried an urbane, cosmopolitan elegance.

The rivalry between them reportedly began over Pretty Woman (1990).

Industry insiders claim Costner was on the shortlist for the role of Edward Lewis, the wealthy businessman who falls for Julia Roberts’ Vivian.

Costner allegedly dismissed the script, calling it “too light, too glossy.

” The role went to Gere, and the film became a global sensation.

Though Costner was already on his way to Dances with Wolves — which would bring him Oscars and credibility — the incident stung.

Friends say he never liked Gere’s acting style, describing it in private as “too calculated, too pretty-boy.”

Over the years, they occasionally crossed paths at Hollywood events, but those present noted the coolness in their exchanges.

“They were never hostile,” one publicist recalled.

“But you could feel the distance, the lack of warmth.

It was rivalry disguised as politeness.”

The irony? Both men went on to dominate the 1990s in their own ways, but fans continue to wonder what Hollywood history might have looked like if Costner had taken Gere’s place in Pretty Woman.

2.Sean Penn — Oil and Water on Set

Costner and Sean Penn shared the screen in No Way Out (1987), a tense political thriller that established Costner as a leading man and showcased Penn’s raw intensity.

On-screen, the pairing worked.

Off-screen, it was a disaster.

Penn’s method style clashed violently with Costner’s disciplined, deliberate approach.

Penn improvised constantly, threw himself into emotional extremes, and often challenged the director.

Costner, who valued structure and precision, was irritated.

“Kevin saw Sean as reckless,” one crew member remembered.

“He didn’t think acting was about chaos.

For Kevin, it’s about discipline, about building a character carefully.

Sean thought rules were there to be broken.”

The tension boiled over in subtle ways: icy silences between takes, curt exchanges during rehearsals, and a general sense that both men wanted the spotlight.

Costner never publicly attacked Penn, but decades later, when asked about actors he preferred not to work with, insiders claim Penn’s name always hovered in the air.

Hollywood thrives on opposites, but in this case, the clash was too great for them ever to reunite on screen.

3.Russell Crowe — A Clash of Titans

By the early 2000s, Russell Crowe was at the peak of his fame.

After Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001), he was Hollywood’s brooding alpha male.

Yet for Costner, who had spent decades embodying similar roles, Crowe represented a new wave he didn’t entirely respect.

Costner reportedly disliked Crowe’s reputation for arrogance and volatility.

Stories of bar fights, clashes with directors, and explosive behavior circulated widely.

For Costner, who prided himself on professionalism, Crowe’s antics were unacceptable.

“They’re both alpha males,” one Hollywood producer explained.

“Put them in the same room, and you could feel the tension.

Kevin thought Russell lowered the standards of professionalism.

Russell thought Kevin was old-fashioned.”

When Western scripts circulated around Hollywood in the early 2000s, both names often appeared on casting shortlists.

Costner allegedly bristled at the comparisons, convinced that his decades of experience should have made him the natural choice.

Crowe’s rise felt, to Costner, like an intrusion on his territory.

The two never worked together, and those close to Costner say that was no accident.

“He had no interest in sharing the stage with someone like Russell,” one longtime associate noted.

“It was oil and fire.”

4.Val Kilmer — From Partner to Opponent

Fans remember Wyatt Earp (1994) as a sweeping Western that paired Costner’s stoic lawman with Val Kilmer’s flamboyant Doc Holliday.

On-screen, their chemistry was magnetic.

Behind the camera, however, their friendship soured.

Reports suggest Kilmer grew frustrated when Costner, who also produced the film, allegedly insisted on shifting the narrative to favor Wyatt Earp over Holliday.

Kilmer believed his character was more colorful, more compelling — and resented being sidelined.

“Val accused Kevin of hogging the spotlight,” one crew member recalled.

“Kevin saw it differently.

He thought Val was disruptive and unwilling to play as part of a team.”

By the time filming wrapped, the two men were barely speaking.

Kilmer made cryptic remarks in later interviews about egos on set, while Costner simply avoided mentioning Kilmer altogether.

The tension remains a fascinating footnote in Hollywood history: two powerful actors who could have formed one of cinema’s great partnerships, undone by rivalry and control.

5.   Kevin Reynolds — The Creative Fallout

Kevin Reynolds, though primarily a director, deserves a place on this list because his feud with Costner became one of Hollywood’s most infamous.

The two collaborated on Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and later Waterworld (1995).

At first, their partnership looked unstoppable: Costner brought star power, Reynolds brought vision.

But as budgets ballooned and egos clashed, their relationship unraveled.

On Waterworld, tensions exploded.

Costner allegedly overstepped, questioning Reynolds’ creative decisions and taking control of key sequences.

Reynolds walked away before the film was finished, leaving Costner to salvage the project.

“They were screaming at each other on set,” a crew member revealed.

“It was brutal.

Kevin thought Reynolds couldn’t handle the pressure.

Reynolds thought Kevin wanted to be both actor and director.”

Though they reconciled years later to work on Hatfields & McCoys (2012), the scars never fully healed.

Costner may have buried the hatchet professionally, but the bitterness of Waterworld remains one of the defining conflicts of his career.

The Larger Pattern: Costner’s Quiet Refusals

What unites these rivalries is not explosive public feuds — Costner rarely engages in public spats — but a pattern of quiet refusal.

He avoids those who drain his patience, resists those who disrupt his sense of professionalism, and refuses to compromise on his vision.

To outsiders, it may look like arrogance.

To insiders, it’s consistency.

“Kevin knows who he is,” one veteran producer explained.

“He doesn’t waste time pretending to like people he doesn’t respect.

In Hollywood, that’s rarer than you think.”
Hollywood Feuds in Context

Costner’s dislikes are part of a broader tradition in Hollywood, where rivalries often shape careers.

Think Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, or Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson.

These conflicts are sometimes petty, sometimes monumental, but they always remind us that even stars are human.

For Costner, a man whose career spans four decades, the grudges reveal something deeper: his unwavering belief in discipline, professionalism, and respect for the craft.

Those who match his standards earn his loyalty.

Those who don’t? They land on his silent blacklist.

Conclusion: The Cowboy With Boundaries

Kevin Costner’s public image is that of a stoic cowboy, a man who carries the weight of history on his shoulders.

But behind the scenes, he is also a man of boundaries.

Richard Gere, Sean Penn, Russell Crowe, Val Kilmer, and Kevin Reynolds each crossed those boundaries in different ways — through rivalry, volatility, arrogance, or betrayal.

The result is a list of dislikes that, once unveiled, makes perfect sense.

Costner isn’t Hollywood’s loudest fighter, but he is its most steadfast.

He doesn’t shout, he doesn’t gossip, but he never forgets.

And maybe that’s why he has survived so long in an industry that devours its own.

Kevin Costner knows who he is, who he respects, and who he cannot stand.

And that, in its own way, is the secret to his endurance.