Kevin Costner Warned Whitney Houston Not To Bring An Entourage When They Filmed 'The Bodyguard'
Kevin Costner recounted his filming experience with the late singer Whitney Houston.
"The Yellowstone" actor appeared on Monday's episode of the "Armchair Expert" podcast. During the interview, he revisited his 1992 hit romance thriller drama "The Bodyguard" opposite Houston. Costner said director Mick Jackson was "afraid" of the "I Have Nothing" hitmaker, so he "started to guide her" by warning her "not to bring an entourage" on set during the production.
"And I wasn't trying to usurp my director, but I had made a promise to her, not to f-ing him," Costner, who also produced the movie, explained.
Since Costner told the "I Will Always Love You" diva not to bring bodyguards, he also ensured his demands would not hinder her safety. He even allowed her to bring a person important to her on set.
"There was a moment where I knew when Whitney came, I said, 'Look, you can't have an entourage, but I'm gonna take care of you if there's a person important to you' -- turned out to be Robyn Crawford -- I said, 'Let's have Robyn with you... I don't have [an entourage] you're not going to have one.' And that's how we started."
Shepard chimed in that Costner "must have made her feel really safe" because the singer agreed not to bring an entourage.
"I don't know what it was, but we had a moment, and I realized that the world had a higher idea of who we were, so I basically embraced it. I was her imaginary bodyguard," Costner replied.
The "Waterworld" actor also shared that the director "was uncomfortable" with Houston, and it was him who picked her for the role. "The Bodyguard" was Houston's acting debut.
"I loved her -- it's not like this giant mystery -- so I knew that she should be the one," he said of Houston's casting.
Costner said he also assured Houston the film would perform well at the box office despite poor test screenings. He made a "promise to her" that the film would work.
"She's always gonna love me, in the song. I was always gonna keep my promise to her," Costner added.
The $25,000,000 film made over $400,000,000 worldwide. It also received 21 nominations and won 14 awards, including Best Movie and Best Movie Song for MTV Movie Awards in 1993, and Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female for Houston at the 1994 Grammys.
