Kevin Costner’s parenting style is leading by example.
While promoting his latest project, starring in the History Channel’s new series “The West,” Costner admitted he considered himself a “dumbbell” growing up, but he didn’t let that stop him from chasing his passion, like American history and the West.
“I don’t know, the advice thing, I’d like them to see how I do my work. I take it seriously. I’m a public school guy. I was often not at the wrong end of the bell curve. There was too much math, and there was not enough history. And I was made to feel like a dumbbell,” Costner said.
“Because if you don’t do well in that thing, you’re a dumbbell. So, I always thought I was a daydreamer. I think I don’t know what advice I give them, other than I hope they can find that yellow brick road, you know, to land on it and have the courage to go forward and don’t let the economics drive their decisions in their lives. Find what they love,” Costner said.
Costner is a father of seven. The “Yellowstone” star shares his oldest children — Annie, 41, Lily, 38, and Joe, 37 — with ex-wife Cindy Silva. He shares his son, Liam, 28, with ex-girlfriend Bridget Rooney.
Costner and estranged wife Christine Baumgartner married in 2004 and welcomed three kids — Cayden, 18, Hayes, 16, and Grace, 14. Baumgartner, a designer, filed for divorce from Costner in May 2023 after 18 years of marriage.
During his interview with Fox News Digital, Costner teased that he gives in to his kids often, so he lets his dog Bob do the same.
“Bob just stands there with a dish in his mouth. He’s like that. So, it’s like I can deal with him. I can shame him,” Costner said.
“I can’t shame my kids who want the keys to the car. I can’t shame them that their social schedule is more important than mine. They just rule me.”
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Costner and Doris Kearns Goodwin serve as executive producers on “The West,” and the actor is narrating the series.
The History Channel show is eight parts and “provides a fresh look at the epic history of the American West by delving into the desperate struggle for the land itself and how it still shapes the America we know today,” the website states.
Goodwin told Fox News Digital she knew Costner would be perfect for this role due to his spiritual connection to the West, and his enthusiasm is “contagious” when you’re around him.
Costner told Fox News Digital he’s a big fan of sports and compares the certainty of playing sports to the history of the West.
“I’ve always felt that I like sports, OK? I’m a sports guy. You and I know the score, right? There’s nobody can bulls— us about who won. There’s something honest about the sports page. It’s not dishonest. We find out who won, right? The rest of our news is a little bit nebulous, but sports never is.
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“And when we think about the West, if we think about it really honestly, we say it was a dangerous place. All the time, you had to be really resourceful. I know guys that kind of really want to see the truth. Let me see how raw it was. Let me how real it was. Am I that tough?” Costner said.
Costner said living in the West was difficult, and history shows many people were forced to live there without the wherewithal to do so.
“They went in groups, and they sometimes perished as groups, and their humanity was alive. And their worst tendencies came out, and their best tendencies came out,” he said.
Costner’s “The West” premieres on the History Channel Memorial Day and is available for streaming May 27.
