Actor Clint Eastwood sent co-star Kevin Costner home from the set of their 1993 crime thriller film A Perfect World after Costner refused to leave his trailer. The legendary actor and director, now 96, showed the former Yellowstone star, now 71, the pecking order on set as Costner was rising to A-list status.
Scott Eastwood, the son of Clint Eastwood, told the legendary story on Monday during an episode of Dax Shepard's podcast Armchair Expert. Scott recalled how his father knocked Costner off his high horse shortly after Costner won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for Dances with Wolves.
Scott Eastwood explained that Costner was experiencing a rapid rise to fame when the movie was being filmed. Describing Costner's mindset at the time, Scott said, "Kevin Costner, sort of going through, you know, the Kevin Costner rise to fame and maybe got a big ego and you know blah blah blah."
Both Clint Eastwood and Kevin Costner were starring in the crime thriller, which Clint was also directing. Scott noted that his father does not like trailers, recalling his dad's policy: "My dad doesn't do trailers and things. He's like 'just be on set.'" Scott added that his father always advised him to remain present on set to learn about filmmaking.
Confrontation on the Film Set
During the podcast, Dax Shepard noted that Costner has a long-standing reputation for being hard on directors, a point Scott Eastwood agreed with. Trouble began on set when Costner refused to come out of his trailer for a scheduled scene. Scott recalled, "And apparently Kevin wouldn't come out of his trailer for some reason."
Clint Eastwood reacted swiftly when Costner stayed inside. Scott said his father simply instructed the crew, "Well send him home then." Shocked crew members asked, "what do you mean? Well he's in this scene," but Clint doubled down on his order.
Crew members went to Costner's trailer and informed him he was being sent home for the day. Scott explained, "They went to Kevin and said, 'Hey you're going to go home for the day. You don't need him.' And he said, 'What do you mean? I'm in the scene.'" The crew replied that he was no longer in the scene, telling him, "Clint changed that. So you know that's the pecking order."
Scott claimed the stern lesson resolved the issue immediately. "And so I think the next day he was on set ready to go," Scott said.
Yellowstone Exit and Feud Rumors
The 1993 set incident resurfaced as Costner has faced fresh reports of on-set friction in recent years. Costner famously left the drama series Yellowstone in 2024 following rumors of a feud with showrunner Taylor Sheridan, 56. Rumors had circulated that Sheridan developed a God complex and clashed with the Oscar-winning actor over character direction.
As a result of Costner's acrimonious exit over scheduling conflicts with his Western film franchise Horizon, his character John Dutton was unexpectedly killed off. Dutton died in a murder-for-hire plot within the first few minutes of the season five, part two premiere episode.
In 2024, Paramount claimed Costner refused to shoot further episodes of Yellowstone to focus on promoting Horizon. However, Costner disputed the studio's account, telling Deadline that the streaming service sought contract amendments because Sheridan was delayed in writing scripts.
Costner told Deadline, "There was no script. And then things imploded. You've been reading one version for a year and a half." He added, "I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it's coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong."
Costner also defended Sheridan against sole blame, saying, "I did not initiate any of those things; they did. They were doing a tap dance and this poor guy was also having to write so much. And I don't know why they didn't stick up for me."
Contract Disputes and Scheduling Claims
Addressing rumors that he only wanted to spend one week filming the rest of season five, Costner contended that Paramount deceived him regarding his contract terms. He told Deadline, "I haven't felt good about it the last year, what with the way they've talked about it. It wasn't truthful. So now I'm talking a little bit about what the real truth of it was. I made a contract for seasons five, six and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we'll do six. They weren't able to make those."
Costner maintained he was willing to schedule filming for Horizon around Yellowstone, but said the studio kept altering the timeline. Reports of a rift between Costner and Sheridan first surfaced in 2023.
Costner's attorney, Marty Singer, forcefully rejected claims about the actor's availability for filming. "The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season five of Yellowstone is an absolute lie," Singer said last summer. He emphasized, "It's ridiculous, and anyone suggesting it shouldn't be believed for one second."
