Kevin Costner’s Hollywood Breakout Owes Everything to The Best NBC Crime Drama Show Starring Don Johnson

Don Johnson’s refusal to star in ‘The Untouchables’ paved the path for Kevin Costner to become a breakout Hollywood star.

Kevin Costner has established himself as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood through his grit and talent.

While the 70-year-old has starred in dozens of projects, it was one of the 80s’ superhit shows, not even his own, that defined his career.

Like every aspiring star, the multiple Oscar winner was once a promising actor trying to find his footing in Hollywood.

It was Brian De Palma’s breakout hit, The Untouchables, in 1987, that changed the script for Costner.

However, as is the intrigue of Hollywood, the Yellowstone star was not the first choice of De Palma for playing the charismatic G-Man in the slick action film.

In fact, Costner landed the role of the Prohibition agent only when De Palma’s original choice Don Johnson refused.

Johnson’s refusal, on the other hand, can be attributed to his success as the lead actor of one of NBC’s iconic dramas.

How did Don Johnson’s loss translate to Kevin Costner’s gain

While Costner became one of NBC’s biggest stars in recent years through his role in Yellowstone, the network has been playing an important role in Costner’s life for a long time.

Moreover, the century-old network is responsible, at least partially, for launching his superstar career.

Don Johnson in a still from Miami Vice | Credit: NBC.

As aforementioned, Kevin Costner was not the Scarface director’s first choice to play Eliot Ness.

Then, how did the Oscar-winner land the role? The answer lies in the fact that De Palma’s original choice – Don Johnson – refused to take up the role in fear of getting ‘typecast’.

As you see, he was already acting in the role of a mega-famous cop in NBC’s blockbuster series, Miami Vice.

After premiering in 1984, the show gained the status of a cultural icon, which firmly cemented Johnson’s star as a leading actor.

The Rebel Ridge star was playing the role of Detective James ‘Sonny’ Crockett – a dashing cop of morally upright nature in the NBC police drama.

As his popularity soared, he became less reluctant to play a similar role on the big screen, which led him to decline De Palma’s offer.

Appearing on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in March 2025, Johnson explained that he sought diametrically opposite roles of Sonny Crockett in fear of losing his status as a versatile actor.

The handsome actor shared,

The thing I realized early on was that, okay, I gotta separate myself from this character.

I gotta separate Don Johnson from Sonny Crockett, ASAP.

… It was really sort of about picking projects that were diametrically opposed to what I had just done so that I didn’t get typecast in just this one thing.

While his acceptance would have had Johnson squaring up to Robert De Niro’s Al Capone, his refusal gave Costner the chance to shine.

Not only did Costner incorporate warmth and subtlety in the character of Eliot Ness, but he also made a distinct impression.

In a film that also stars Costner’s acting idol Sean Connery, and generational star Robert De Niro, the Dances With Wolves actor held his own fort through his nuanced performance

Kevin Costner landed The Untouchables after Steven Spielberg’s recommendation

While Johnson was De Palma’s primary choice, he was not the only star who had been approached for the role.

According to All The Right Movies, De Palma was initially not confident of Costner as he was still not a big name in Hollywood then.

Sean Connery and Kevin Costner in a still from The Untouchables | Credit: Paramount Pictures.

Thus, while Harrison Ford rejected the role, Hollywood behemoths like Mel Gibson, Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, and Mickey Rourke were all considered.

Yet, Ness’s character landed with Costner when De Palma’s friend and fellow Hollywood iconic director, Steven Spielberg, came into the picture.

The Schindler’s List creator, who already knew Costner’s acting prowess from his 1985 film Fandango, vouched his support for the Horizon actor.

He purportedly told De Palma,

The guy is going places.

Get him in.

Boasting a stellar casting of Costner, Connery (who played Ness’s mentor Jimmy Malone), and De Niro, the film grossed over $100 million in the box office following its release.

While the film was critically acclaimed, it brought an Oscar in the Supporting role for Sean Connery.

The Untouchables narrates the story of the real-life Prohibition-era agent Eliot Ness’s life as he waged war against Al Capone in Chicago.

De Palma’s film was loosely based on the ABC crime drama of the same name that ran from 1959 to 1963, after Ness published his book bearing the same name in 1957.

As the film narrated the life story of a real-life hero, it also skyrocketed Costner’s career, who would go on to become one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood.

The Untouchables and Miami Vice can be streamed on Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video, respectively.