A Look Back at Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston’s Friendship: From ‘The Bodyguard’ to His Touching Eulogy
Their bond began on set and lasted a lifetime—Costner’s words still move fans today
While countless Hollywood friendships warm our hearts, few were as touching as that of Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. Though it’s been over a decade since the starlet passed, the relationship between Houston and Costner is one we love to look back on. Here, everything about this iconic famous friendship.
How Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston met
Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston first met on the set of 1992’s The Bodyguard. The film tells the story of a major star, Rachel, portrayed by Houston, who is being stalked. In order to keep her safe, she is assigned a bodyguard, played by none other than Kevin Costner, to protect her. Though at first she finds his presence to be an inconvenience and he believes her to be spoiled, the two grow close as he goes to great lengths to ensure her safety. While this film is revered for its drama and romance, Houston also recorded her iconic rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” for the soundtrack—which she even earned an Academy Award nomination for.
The story behind ‘I Will Always Love You’
The intro of Whitney’s rendition of the song begins with her singing the lyrics a cappella, showcasing just how impressive her vocals were all on their own—and during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Costner revealed that he was the one who pushed for that!
“They weren’t that wild about it on the record side of things and I said, ‘You guys need to get over that.’ I said, ‘Don’t be too sure they won’t play it on the radio.’ For me, Whitney was doing almost an apology moment at that point, and what better way to let somebody know they really mean what they are singing to you when they don’t need the music behind them? Let me sing to you what I feel about you.” He continued, “Of course, the band kicks in and we know when it does, the hair on your arm stands up. That was just an instinct that I had, let’s not have any music and let her stand up there just bare and say you were important to me at a certain point in her life,” he shared.
Kevin Costner’s emotional tribute
After the two grew close, the actor never shied away from singing Whitney’s praises, both before and after she had left us. On the actor’s 70th birthday this year, he reposted a photo to his Instagram story of him and Houston with a caption that read, “This photo reminds me of how lucky I am to be getting another birthday. We lost such a light when we lost Whitney.” However, it was at the singer’s funeral in 2012, after she had tragically died of an accidental drowning, where he shared a tribute that brings a tear to our eye every time we hear it.
“The Whitney I knew, despite her success and worldwide fame, still wondered: Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me? It was the burden that made her great. Whitney, if you could hear me now, I would tell you, you weren’t just good enough—you were great. You sang the whole damn 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 could have filled that role, but you, Whitney, I truly believed that you were the only one who could have played Rachel Marron at that time. You weren’t just pretty—you were as beautiful as a woman could be. And people didn’t just like you, Whitney—they loved you.” The actor concluded, “So off you go, Whitney, off you go…escorted by an army of angels to your Heavenly Father. And when you sing before Him, don’t you worry—you’ll be good enough.”
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