The Life of All-American Actor Kevin Costner

In 1995, he starred in Waterworld, a massive post-apocalyptic adventure set on a flooded Earth. The production became one of the most expensive and heavily discussed Hollywood projects of the decade, with its budget, delays, and scale drawing attention before audiences even saw the film.

Although Waterworld later developed a longer afterlife and a more complicated reputation, at the time it became a symbol of Hollywood excess. For Costner, it marked a sharp change from the nearly untouchable success he had enjoyed just a few years earlier.