Father of 7 Kevin Costner Says He’s Just ‘Like Any Other Parent’ Who’s ‘Trying To Figure It Out’

Nov 24, 2022

Kevin Costner has always captured our hearts through his actions and emotions on the big screen. A protagonist of many great love stories, some might even consider Costner to be the "king" of Hollywood romance.

Despite his recurring role as the king of love on the big screen, Costner did not have that much luck when it came to finding love in real life. After many years of trying again and again in failed relationships, the actor finally found love at 49 years old — and he has never looked back since.

Kevin Costner is a man of many talents who has a striking likability. This comes across in his legendary roles in films like "Field of Dreams," "Bull Durham," and "Dances With Wolves." Costner has been a major Hollywood star for over three decades.

While he is the true definition of a successful actor, the family man is also a leading man in real life, with seven beautiful children. Yes! The California-born actor also plays a father's role to four sons, Joe, Liam, Cayden, plus Hayes, and three daughters, Annie, Lily, and Grace. The part might seem overwhelming, but Costner said he likes it that way. 

In past interviews with the media, the "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" star revealed he faced a few difficulties handling two sets of children at once.

Why two sets of kids? Well, Costner's children come as a bunch on a whole new level. The seven children have a 26-year age gap, with the older set from previous relationships and the younger set with his current wife, Christine Baumgartner, whom he married in 2004. 

Being a famous actor, Costner shared that he loves working, but he also loves his life as a father. "Movies are magic, and they've always been magic to me. You get to play heroes in the movies, but there's a moment in time where you're just a father, and you get to go home," he said. "I have played two roles in my life, one I get paid to do, which is the movies, and the other one is being a father, for which I'll be rewarded my whole life," the actor and father added. 

Costner also takes pains to ensure his children all feel equally loved, despite their age differences. "As these children interact together, there's always this little bit of 'Do you care for us now as much as you do them?' — that's just a natural thing that happens, and you have to talk about how big love is. The ability to be able to love somebody else doesn't mean there's less love for you. Love seems to be always able to hang on to as many people as needs to be in that circle," he said in 2015. 

He added assimilating his older and younger sets of kids was no mean feat. "There's so much room (for love). And that's the way it is with children, and if there was any, perhaps jealousy that existed, I basically reminded (my older kids) that they were going to have twice as long with me on this planet. I said, 'Look, they're not going to have what you had,' and at that point, they all just embraced each other."

As we get older, we become more and more aware of the fact we have a limited time to share with our loved ones, something Costner takes to heart. For this reason, the "Yellowstone" star said he makes every effort to spend as much time as possible with his younger children, sons Cayden and Hayes and daughter Grace. One way he does this is by finding them parts in his own film projects, with Hayes, set to share the set with his dad on the four-part western epic "Horizon."

"He's very good," Costner told People. "But I kind of did it on purpose, so he could be hanging out with me. And the same thing for Cayden, same thing for Grace. 'This is really neat. You should come be with me.'"

He also shared with the outlet how fulfilling fatherhood is, even if there are some melancholic moments. 

"You've got to get down on the ground and play with them. 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," he said.

The actor said while the rest of the world might perceive him to be a high-flying superstar, that is far from the case.

"I work as a provider. I'm a father and I'm a husband, but the world doesn't revolve around me," he said.

"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."

What do you think about Costner's parenting style? Did you know he had such a big family? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to friends and family, too.