Kevin Costner says he never makes film unless it has "strong women characters"

Actor, producer, and director Kevin Costner shared that although he makes movies for men but he never misses out on strong woman characters in them, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Academy Award-winning filmmaker joined his 'Horizon: An American Saga' stars Sam Worthington, Abbey Lee, and Luke Wilson for a live broadcast of Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast.

During the wide-ranging debate, Costner discussed developing completely fleshed-out characters, particularly women, who aren't often portrayed in Western films.

"When you start writing you go, 'Where's the woman?' It just drove the story in every plot line," he said. "It just seemed to me to be so easy. I mean, I just hardly couldn't conceive of a scene that didn't involve women or a young girl raised by a strong woman."

While cast member Sienna Miller was unable to attend the podcast session, Costner praised her, stating she helped bring his characters to life via her "luminous" performance.

"I make movies for men," he continued. "That's what I do. But I won't make a movie unless I have strong women characters, and that's how I've conducted my career. And I think that's why I have a good following. I thank you women for dragging your men here. It was a Western, after all."

'Horizon: An American Saga' is the first instalment in a four-part film series, with the second slated to be released in August. Parts 3 and 4 are currently in the works. Costner leads the ensemble cast in the drama that spans 15 years of pre- and post-Civil War growth.

The series marks Costner's comeback to filmmaking after more than 20 years. He won an Oscar for his directorial debut, Dances With Wolves, in 1991, and followed it up with The Postman (1997) and Open Range (2003). Since then, he's mostly focused on acting and producing projects, most recently Yellowstone, which he formally left on June 20.

When it came to Horizon: An American Saga, he shared that he felt he had to return to helm the film series he had been working on since the 1980s.

"Sometimes you wonder if you can still ride the bike, but what I knew was I believed so much in my story that I really was the one that needed to direct this," he told THR at the film's Los Angeles premiere on Monday. "I didn't want to come away not bringing everything home that I thought the movie had a chance to deliver."

He added, "There are people that are more talented than myself. I'm sure that [there are] directors [who] really understand the camera, but I believe in the story, and I believe so much in it that for me I think that comes shining through my movies." 'Horizon: An American Saga' is now in theatres, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

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