EXCLUSIVE: Kevin Costner 'Couldn't Keep His Eyes Off' Whitney Houston on 'The Bodyguard': 'The Chemistry Was Immediate'
Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston starred in 'The Bodyguard.'
Aug. 6 2026, Updated 1:19 p.m. ET
Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston formed a special bond while filming The Bodyguard, and according to a source, their "chemistry" as co-stars was off the charts.
Ahead of what would have been the powerhouse singer's 63rd birthday, RadarOnline.com revisits Costner and Houston's friendship.
Kevin Costner Pushes to Cast Whitney Houston
Kevin Costner fought for Whitney Houston to get the role.
The Yellowstone actor, 71, first met Houston in the early '90s after campaigning for her to be cast in The Bodyguard, despite trepidation from execs.
"I thought she was the perfect choice, but the red flags came out immediately," Costner later recalled. "I was reminded that this would be her first acting role. 'We could also think about another singer,' was a suggestion. Maybe somebody white. Nobody ever said it out loud."
But Costner and Houston were able to convince them after she nailed a screen test.
'He Couldn't Keep His Eyes Off Her'
A source claimed the 'chemistry' between the co-stars was 'powerful.'
As the duo went on to film the '90s classic, their rapport was undeniable.
"He couldn’t keep his eyes off her and went out of his way to make her comfortable in her first film role," an insider exclusively told Radar in resurfaced comments. "The chemistry between them was immediate and powerful."
Kevin Costner Praises Whitney Houston at Her Funeral
Whitney Houston died at 48.
Tragically, Houston battled addiction for decades. The Grammy winner died at 48, just before the 20th anniversary of The Bodyguard in 2012. Her cause of death was accidental drowning with drug use as a contributing factor.
At her funeral, Costner gave a heartbreaking eulogy praising Houston for her talent and beauty.
"Whitney, if you could hear me now, I would tell you you weren’t just good enough, you were great," he said of her performance in their film. "You sang the whole d--n song without a band. You made the picture what it was. A lot of leading men could have played my part. A lot of guys – lot of guys could have filled that role. But you, Whitney, I truly believe were the only one that could have played Rachel Marron at that time."
"You weren’t just pretty. You were as beautiful as a woman could be," he continued. "And people didn’t just like you, Whitney. They loved you."
Kevin Costner Refuses to Cut Eulogy
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Kevin Costner claimed he was asked to trim down his eulogy for Whitney Houston.
Years later, Costner revealed that he had been asked to cut down his nearly 20-minute speech at Houston's televised funeral.
During a 2024 appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, the Field of Dreams star said it was important to him to cover everything he "needed to say" to Houston.
"I had been working on this speech… and I tried to compile everything I wanted to do and finally crafted this speech," he shared at the time. "Somebody said, 'CNN's here, they wouldn't mind if your remarks were kept shorter because they're going to have commercials.'"
"I said, 'They can get over that. They can play the commercial while I'm talking, I don't care," he continued. "I started, and about 17 minutes later I was done."
