Kevin Costner, the Oscar-winning actor, shares his thoughts on faith and joy in a Christmas special on ABC focused on the Nativity story.
Before Kevin Costner gained fame with “Yellowstone,” won two Oscars for “Dances With Wolves,” played baseball with legends in a magical field, or stayed in a Sunset Boulevard camper chasing Hollywood success, he started his path to fame in a small church.
“I was about 4 years old when they picked me to play a shepherd in our church’s annual Nativity play,” he says in ABC’s “Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas.” “That became my very first acting role, and my only line was just one word: ‘Hark!'”
Horizon: An American Saga actor and director, Kevin Costner, at 81st Venice Film Festival
Photo credit: Arielaortizb, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The two-hour special airs on Dec. 9 at 8 PM ET/PT and will be available to stream the next day on Hulu and Disney+. It combines a portrayal of Christ’s birth with expert commentary and Costner sharing his own thoughts. The project clearly sparked a deep passion in the seasoned actor.
“Everybody thinks they know the story,” Costner tells USA TODAY. “We’re excited for this season, but sometimes it feels like there’s just too much to juggle. It can get overwhelming, like having too many people in your home at once. Still, there’s an incredible story at the center of it all that changed so much around the world.”
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“I’m grateful I got to be involved in this,” the 70-year-old Costner says. “I understand there will be doubters and people who don’t believe. I invite them to watch and decide for themselves. For me though, working on this brought real happiness.”
The church his family started back in the 1950s, Costner says, gave him his “foundation.”
“Our lives revolved around the church,” he says. “It was the heart of everything we did.”
His grandmother led the choir, and his mom, Sharon Costner, sang in it. Sharon, who acted with him in “Tin Cup” and “For Love of the Game,” passed away in 1998. “It was always amazing to watch my mom sing,” Costner shares. “I miss seeing her up there.”
Even though she is no longer here, Costner still holds on to the memory of her singing. The lessons he learned from the church continue to shape how he lives today.
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“Stories of faith and belief are something special,” he says. “I can’t picture life without having something to believe in.”
Costner finds strength in his faith when life throws challenges his way. It reminds him of the struggles in his beloved Western films.
Actor and director Kevin Costner while visiting Andrews Air Force Base. Photo credit: SSgt. Dennis J. Henry Jr. (USAF), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“Sometimes it’s hard to explain what keeps us going or fuels that strong belief that we’ll get through tough times,” Costner says. “We can’t always put it into words. We just decide to believe, and for me, that decision has been my foundation.”
In 2023, Kevin Costner went through personal struggles as his marriage to Christine Baumgartner, his wife of almost 20 years and the mother of their three kids ended in divorce. , he dealt with challenges related to his big four-part movie project Horizon: An American Saga. The release of the second part got pushed to 2024, and Costner openly discussed the money troubles tied to making Chapter 3.
“My journey has been filled with some amazing moments and some tough challenges,” Costner says . “I’ve dealt with public judgment and false ideas about me that I know aren’t real. But facing those things is just part of life. So, I ask myself how am I going to live? Should I give in to anger, or should I keep believing that everything will work out the way it’s meant to? I’ve always tried to stick with the second option.
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“Still, there are times when I’m just human, and I find myself thinking, ‘God, can we speed this up a little? I’ve been patient and praying for so long. Can we move this forward already?’ But having faith means understanding that challenges will come our way. It’s part of life, to go through these tests and trials.”
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Source:
Erin Jensen (Dec. 9, 2025). Kevin Costner kept faith amid adversity − ‘We’re going to be tested’. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2025/12/08/kevin-costner-first-christmas-special-faith/87605920007/
Header image: Horizon: An American Saga actor and director, Kevin Costner, at 81st Venice Film Festival
Photo credit: Arielaortizb, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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