Kevin Costner Reveals The Promise He Made To Whitney Houston – And If He Kept It

When Whitney Houston passed away in 2012, the world lost a legend, but Kevin Costner lost a friend.

While filming their 1992 movie The Bodyguard, the co-stars formed a close bond that would never be broken, even in death.

Because of their close bond, Costner was asked to speak at her funeral. He didn’t initially want to do it but agreed after speaking with Houston’s aunt, the legendary Dionne Warwick. His eulogy ended up being 17 minutes long.

In a new interview on the Armchair Expert podcast hosted by Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, Costner revealed that CNN, who was airing the funeral on TV, asked him to make it shorter so they could add commercials.

Costner recalled, “Somebody said, ‘CNN’s here, they wouldn’t mind if your remarks were kept shorter because they’re going to have commercials.’ And I said, ‘They can get over that. They can play the commercial while I’m talking, I don’t care.’ “

The Bodyguard was Houston’s first foray into the acting world, which made her a little nervous. She was already a superstar singer, but would it translate over to the big screen? We know now that the answer to that question is yes, but at the time, she and her team weren’t sure.

Costner said, “I realized that the world had a higher idea of who we were, so I basically embraced it. I was her imaginary bodyguard. I started to guide her, and I wasn’t trying to usurp my director. But I made a promise to her.”

His promise was simple. That the movie would be a hit and that she would shine.

You can’t ever predict the success of movies, but it seems Costner had a crystal ball. The Bodyguard went on to gross close to $122 million domestically despite less-than-stellar initial reviews. The film spawned the Whitney Houston-performed, Grammy Award-winning song “I Will Always Love You.” The movie’s soundtrack, which features the songs “I Have Nothing,” “Run To You,” and “Queen of the Night,” still remains the best-selling movie soundtrack.

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Houston shining in the movie and it being a success actually wasn’t Costner’s only promise he made to Houston.

“That was my promise to her,” Costner said. “She’s always gonna love me in the song. I was always gonna keep my promise to her.”

Costner has always spoken highly of Houston. In February 2022, which was the 10th anniversary of her passing, Costner remember his co-star and friend by saying,

“I don’t think she realized how good she was. There was a moment in time where the singers behind her, there was a lot of dancing in their music. Whitney for me, was a flat-footed singer. Like Streisand, her voice was so powerful that she did not need to dance. Sometimes I wonder if she pushed herself to a place she didn’t need to go.”

It’s clear Costner and Houston are lifelong friends – in this life and the next. Watch Costner’s speech at Houston’s funeral below.