A two-time Academy Award-winner, this handsome, amiable leading man with a stoic, deadpan style made his now-infamous major film debut in director Lawrence Kasdan's "The Big Chill" (1983). Though his scenes ended up being excised nearly completely, the cutting room disaster only delayed Costner’s rise to superstardom. In recompense, Kasdan gave him the prominent, flashy role of the wild gunfighter, Jake, in the action-packed neo-modern western, "Silverado" (1985). Costner’s frequent collaborations with Kasdan – as well as directors Ron Shelton and Kevin Reynolds – yielded an impressive string
