The Bodyguard: Watch Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner's electric chemistry in unearthed video

11 August 2023, 16:08

The unearthed video of Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner on the set of The Bodyguard in 1992 shows palpable magic between the pair.

The Bodyguard cemented Whitney Houston as one of the biggest stars of all time, with the soundtrack's lead single 'I Will Always Love You' selling over 45 million copies.

The movie itself, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in November 2022, is widely regarded as one of the most romantic films of all time, but it's the relationship between its lead actors that really captured the public's imagination.

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Rare footage behind-the-scenes of The Bodyguard set shows Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner as they lark around and gently mock each other, much to the delight of the surrounding crew.

The footage, shot in a set of the 1992 film, sees Kevin Costner running through the woods in the famous snow scene, before cutting to Kevin and Whitney sitting beside one another as she gets her make-up done, as he jokes it's "like watching paint dry."

The couple is very tactile and at ease in one another's company, cementing Costner's later claim that he was like "every other red-blooded male" and "thought she was very pretty."

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By the early 1990s, Whitney Houston had become a huge international pop star, yet it was Kevin who was instrumental in getting Whitney hired for the role, and was willing to wait a year for her to accept it: "I just thought she was that right [for it]."

(RARE) Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard, Behind The Scenes Footage

Whitney herself later said that it was the encouragement and kindness from Kevin Costner that gave her the courage to take on such a big acting role.

She told Rolling Stone she delayed accepting until Costner called her himself. He promised her that he wouldn't let her make a fool of herself, and she agreed.

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However, he also told her not to get acting lessons. "He said: 'I promise you I will not let you fall. I will help you,'" she said. "And he did."

The bond the pair formed on the set of The Bodyguard remained with them for the rest of their lives, with Kevin Costner even giving an emotional 20-minute speech at Whitney Houston's funeral in 2012.

Kevin spoke about their time filming The Bodyguard, and how despite being one of the most famous singers in the world, she had her insecurities, just like everyone else.

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"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," he said.

"A lot of leading men could've played my part … but you, Whitney, I truly believe you were the only one who could've 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."

Choking up at the end, he added: "Off you go Whitney, off you go. Escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father. When you sing before him, don't you worry. You'll be good enough."