Hollywood icon Kevin Costner recalls filming ‘Hidden Figures’ while on morphine: "I wanted to..."
Kevin Costner is well known for his dedication to his acting, and during the 2016 shoot of 'Hidden Figures', his commitment to his character went above and beyond expectations. At the time, he was dealing with an unexpected challenge—excruciating kidney stones. For nearly two weeks, Costner endured intense pain but managed to keep it hidden on set, refusing to let it affect his performance. For the unversed, 'Hidden Figures' is a 2016 film based on the true story of three Black women working within NASA.
Reflecting on the same in an interview with People, Costner said, “I worked 10 days under an IV drip. I don't even know how. About three days of it I was normal and then something happened to me.” He relied on a morphine drip to manage the pain, a necessity as his symptoms worsened over time. “I’ve never worked drunk on a set. I’ve never worked high on a set, but I was on morphine the last two weeks that I worked on [Hidden Figures]” he said. Costner didn’t miss a day, either, shooting through heavy medication and general discomfort. He mostly worked in a haze, often attached to an IV, as if to refuse his pain its due. “I wanted to cry, but there was everybody watching, so I didn't,” he recalled how exhausting the shoot was.
Costner had to roll down his sleeves on set to hide the bruises from his IV drip, a subtle detail that underscores the challenges he faced while filming. Despite these obstacles, Costner describes 'Hidden Figures' as a “magic” moment in his career, especially because of the chance to work alongside talented actors like Octavia Spencer, with whom he had previously collaborated on the 2014 film 'Black or White'.
His dedication to portraying NASA’s Al Harrison highlights his unwavering commitment to his craft. Although the painful conditions made filming difficult, Costner remained focused on delivering an authentic and emotionally resonant performance. Remarkably, Costner almost turned down the role of Al Harrison, as he initially felt the character—a NASA supervisor—was poorly written in the original script. According to him, the role didn’t make sense and lacked consistency. Ultimately, his decision to take on the part resulted in a performance that will be remembered not only for its depth and sincerity but also for the unseen struggles he overcame to bring the character to life.
The script for 'Hidden Figures' had combined three real people into one character, a decision Kevin Costner felt added little to the story or to supporting the women’s contributions. “I almost didn’t do the movie because the character didn’t make a lot of sense to me,” he revealed in an interview with Medium. “His contributions weren’t enough to prop up the girls. It was just kind of moving from room to room and saying things that were very contradictory.” Unwilling to settle, Costner reached out to director Theodore Melfi to express his concerns. He explained that the character needed to feel real, rather than simply drifting through scenes with conflicting lines. Melfi acknowledged the issue and agreed with Costner’s perspective. After their discussion, Costner felt better about taking the role since the character was rewritten to be more real and in support of the main characters.
The movie’s success wasn’t just down to Costner’s acting, but also its strong story and great performances. 'Hidden Figures' made $236 million worldwide on a budget of $25 million. It opened with a huge $22.8 million in its first weekend, beating 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'. The reviews were fantastic, and many believed it had a real chance at an Academy Award nomination, even for Best Picture. The combination of an inspiring true story, strong performances, and solid direction helped make 'Hidden Figures' a big hit both at the box office and with audiences.