Kevin Costner reveals why Whitney Houston beat Julia Roberts to The Bodyguard role

15 July 2024, 14:10

It wouldn't have been the same film without her.

Looking back, it's difficult to imagine anyone other than the incredible Whitney Houston taking on the role of superstar singer Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard.

Whitney was of course a pop sensation in her own right, so had the credentials and real-life experience to bring to the film.

Because of her immaculate voice, she transformed the soundtrack to 1992's The Bodyguard into the best-selling soundtrack of all time, a record that remains intact today remarkably.

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Who can forget her spine-tingling rendition of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You', a song that topped charts around the world for months on end.

There was scepticism around Whitney being cast in a box-office movie, given her lack of "acting chops" as co-star Kevin Costner put it.

But in a recent interview with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show, Costner revealed why he hand-picked her for the role above the likes of Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer.

"It could’ve been Michelle Pfeiffer, it could’ve been Julia Roberts, it could’ve been anybody, but when I looked at it I thought, 'No, it should be Whitney Houston'," the Dances With Wolves actor admitted.

"For me, it was so easy to go, 'Well this is the most beautiful girl, this is the one who can sing. This is the girl'," despite having no prior acting experience by that point.

Kevin was very active behind the scenes of the film, not just choosing Whitney for the role but also the director in Mick Jackson.

He then revealed how his and Whitney's relationship blossomed on set, with Kevin taking on a similar protective role to his on-screen character as her bodyguard.

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"I said, 'If you’re uncertain about things, Whitney, just look at me and tell me and we will drift off into the corner and I'll make this right for you'."

Plumping for a newcomer instead of a star with "better-acting chops" shocked the studios that were in negotiations to work on the film.

Despite that, Kevin had full belief in Whitney's on-screen abilities, saying he didn't think it was "that big of a deal" in another interview with CBS Sunday.

"I like to think that that’s what it was," he said, rather than the studios not wanting to cast a young black singer. "I didn’t see it as a risk at all."

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"What I saw was that Whitney was the one. I didn’t think that was that brave. I think backing off of that would have been cowardly."

Kevin also said it was his idea to start Whitney singing 'I Will Always Love You' in a-cappella to show her character's vulnerability in proving her love for Costner's character Frank Farmer.

He and Whitney became incredibly close on the set of The Bodyguard, and maintained a close bond right up until she sadly died on 11th February 2012.

Costner even delivered a eulogy at Whitney's funeral, refusing to cut his 17-minute speech short even with pressure of national broadcasters to do so.