Horizon: Chris Hemsworth recalls how he lost the part in Kevin Costner’s western epic when Costner decided to cast himself

Last Updated on April 17, 2024

Kevin Costner’s tense departure from his hit show Yellowstone has settled and he’s moved on to his grand vision of an old west tale in Horizon. Costner began work on Horizon in 1988. He has more movies planned, and the character he invented in 1988 was so important to him that he named his son after him (Hayes). His character is about a drifter who wants to find a home. He hopes the movies can be a big franchise and that years from now, people can binge-watch hours of Horizon in theaters.

Costner’s connection to the Hayes character was strong enough that the Dances with Wolves star knew he still had it in him to lead his epic. However, Variety reports that Chris Hemsworth was vying for the starring role, and the Thor star explained to Entertainment Tonight how the part fell through for him. The Aussie actor didn’t come right out and say it was for Horizon, but he stated, “There was a movie, a script that I’d read and loved and was like, ‘I want to get that,’ and then someone said, ‘Kevin Costner has that [role].’ I’d love [to have] him as a director. I was like, ‘G*ddamnit!’ [I spent] an hour the other day trying to convince him, and he was like, ‘I’m doing it, kid.’ Didn’t work. I didn’t get the part.”

While Hemsworth did actually reveal the title of the film in his anecdote, it was deduced to be Horizon by his inclusion of saying, “There are horses involved,” and the character was a “horse wrangler.” That aspect appealed to Hemsworth. “My wife read [the script] and loves horses. We have 10 or 11 horses back home, and so she’s like, ‘You’ve got to do this.’” Hemsworth said the story was described as “abstract and interesting …a small story about a man and a woman.”

Costner would confirm Hemsworth was up for the role when he also spoke with ET about the film. “It’s a love story, but as long as I’m still young enough to play it, I’ll play it. Chris will have to wait his turn. [Hemsworth] ’s so handsome, and he’s so good. He’s going to have to go find his [own] love story. [But] I’m glad he likes this one. If I reach a moment where I [don’t] think I could do that, I would [reach out]. He’s certainly one of our great leading men right now.”