Why Kevin Costner’s kids were ‘startled’ when he got emotional during standing ovation (2024)

Kevin Costner says his kids were "startled" by his emotional response to the standing ovation he received at the May 19 premiere of his upcoming Western film “Horizon: An American Saga” at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Hollywood legend, 69, opened up about the experience on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, saying the ovation, which went on for roughly 11 minutes, made him tear up.

“I did get emotional, actually. My eyes filled. There’s 2500 people there in that theater,” the actor recalled.

Costner was joined at the event by five of his seven children: Annie Costner, Cayden Wyatt Costner, Grace Avery Costner, Hayes Logan Costner and Lily Costner. (The star's two other kids, Joe Costner and Liam Costner, were not present.)

The two-time Oscar winner said he silently reflected on the “ups and downs” of his decades-long career as the crowd enthusiastically applauded his new movie.

Having his kids by his side during that moment made the experience that much more powerful for him, he said.

“I had five of my children, two of my boys were in tuxes and my 3 little girls were all dressed up and they were watching too and they got a little startled by it,” he told Shepard.

“My son had not ever seen me be that emotional,” he added.

The "Dances with Wolves" star said he had no idea he would be asked to share “remarks” with the crowd. After he pulled himself together, he expressed how much the support meant to him and his kids.

“It’s a funny business, and I’m so glad I found it. There’s no place like here. I’ll never forget this — either will my children,” Costner told audience members, according to Variety.

Kevin Costner first became a dad four decades ago. The actor has discussed how much fatherhood has meant to him in interviews over the years.

“You’ve got to get down on the ground and play with them,” he told People in November 2022. “And you teach them to be independent — and the sad part about that is they become that. I’m like any other parent: I’m trying to figure it out.”

The "Yellowstone" actor's seven children range from 14 to 40 in age. The actor told People that they are his life outside of work.

“I work as a provider," he said. "I’m a father and I’m a husband, but the world doesn’t revolve around me. When I’m not making a movie, I’m living and on the freeway with my wife, getting the kids to their stuff or I’m waiting for them to come out of a party. I’m just twiddling my thumbs. People have a wrong idea about how my life works.”

“The Bodyguard” actor shares his first three children — Annie, Lily and Joe — with his first wife, Cindy Silva, and they divorced in 1994. Kevin Costner later dated Bridget Rooney and they welcomed son Liam together. After remarrying in 2004 to Christine Baumgartner, Costner had three children with her: Cayden, Hayes and Grace. Baumgartner filed for divorce from the actor in May 2023 after 18 years of marriage.

Here's more about Kevin Costner's children:

Annie Costner

• How old is she? 40
• Who are her parents? Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva, who were college sweethearts from Cal State Fullerton, according to the Los Angeles Times.
• Where does she fall in the age lineup? Annie Costner is Kevin Costner's eldest child and was born in 1984. Her parents were married between 1978 to 1994 and had two other children together: Lily and Joe.
• What does she do for a living? Like her famous father, Annie Costner has pursued a career in entertainment and has multiple credits as an actor, director and producer on IMDb. You might remember her as a star of the 1995 film “The Baby-Sitters Club,” where she played a character with her same first name. She also appeared in two of her dad’s films, “The Postman” and “Dances with Wolves." Annie co-founded a production company called Sound Off Films in 2014.

Lily Costner

• How old is she? 37
• Who are her parents? Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva
• Where does she fall in the age lineup? Lily Costner is Kevin Costner’s second child and was born in 1986, two years after her sister, Annie Costner. She is Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva's middle child and is two years older than her brother Joe.
• What does she do for a living? Lily Costner has a talent for singing and has musical credits in two of her father’s films: “Black or White” and “3000 Miles to Graceland.” Most recently, she collaborated with her dad for the song “Heaven’s Gate” from the 2020 album “Tales of Yellowstone,” per Country Living. In 2017, Kevin told the Huffington Post that his daughter is an “amazing singer and songwriter.”
• Fun fact: Lily and Annie Costner share a passion for acting, and they both appeared in “The Postman” and “The Baby-Sitters Club.”

Joe Costner

• How old is he? 36
• Who are his parents? Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva
• Where does he fall in the age lineup? Joe is Kevin Costner’s third child and was born in 1988, two years after his sister Lily Costner. He is Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva’s youngest child.
• What does he do for a living? In a 2017 interview with the Huffington Post, Kevin Costner revealed that his son is “really gifted in music.” According to Good Housekeeping, Joe Costner owns Spartan Recording, a mobile recording studio.
• Fun fact: Joe Costner appeared in "The Postman" alongside his sisters, Annie and Lily, in 1997. He can also be seen in another one of his father's films, "Tin Cup."

Liam Costner

• How old is he? 28
• Who are his parents? Kevin Costner and Bridget Rooney, who is the granddaughter of Pittsburgh Steelers founding owner Art Rooney.
• Where does he fall in the age lineup? Liam Costner is Kevin Costner's fourth child and is eight years younger than his older brother, Joe. Liam Costner was born in 1996, two years after Kevin Costner and Cindy Silva got divorced, and is the only child the "Yellowstone" actor shares with Rooney.

Cayden Wyatt Costner

• How old is he? 17
• Who are his parents? Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner
• Where does he fall in the age lineup? Cayden was born on May 6, 2007, almost three years after his parents married in 2004. He is the first of three children that the couple share.
• What has his father said about him? In 2017, Kevin Costner spoke to the Huffington Post about his children and described Cayden as a “good older brother.” Ahead of Cayden’s birth, Kevin Costner spoke about being an older father. “I don’t kid myself about certain realities: I won’t be around to see as much of this one’s life as I’ll get to see of my older kids’ lives. So with him, I really want to be there for every single moment that I can,” he told Good Housekeeping in 2007.

Hayes Logan Costner

• How old is he? 15
• Who are his parents? Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner
• Where does he fall in the age lineup? Hayes was born on Feb. 12, 2009 and is the second of three children that Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner share. Hayes falls between his siblings Cayden and Grace in the age lineup.
• What has his father said about him? In a 2016 interview with TODAY, Kevin Costner said his son Hayes was very athletic. “We’re at all the little league games, we’re in that car constantly. We’re trying to get the kids on the same team so we wont have to go to three practices,” he said. “So poor little Hayes, who’s in the middle, is having to play with 8- and 9-year-olds, and he’s 6 and he can hack it.”

Grace Avery Costner

• How old is she? 14
• Who are her parents? Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner
• Where does she fall in the age lineup? Grace was born on June 2, 2010, and is the youngest of Kevin Costner and Christine Baumgartner’s three children. She is also Kevin Costner’s youngest child overall.
• What has her father said about her? In a 2016 appearance on TODAY, Kevin Costner described Grace as his “girly girl.” He said, “She’s sewing and dancing but when she sees the ball bouncing out in the backyard, I can feel her gravitate out with the boys.”
• Fun fact: Kevin Costner rocked out with Grace at a Taylor Swift concert in Los Angeles in August 2023, and they clearly had a blast. “My videos are blurry, but I had an amazing time with my daughter at the @taylorswift show. I was absolutely blown away watching her art bring so many people together,” he wrote on Instagram, sharing video clips of the show. “I had a great view of her band and had a blast watching them, too. An inspiring night. I’m officially a Swiftie!”

CORRECTION (May 20, 2024, 9:51 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this story misstated Kevin Costner’s son’s first and middle name as Logan Hayes. It has been corrected to Hayes Logan.