Kevin Costner Shows A Dark Side

His New Film "Mr. Brooks," A Psychological Thriller, Is A Departure For The Actor

(CBS)  Kevin Costner has been making movies for 25 years and his roles have ranged from everything to an aging ballplayer in "Bull Durham," a medieval hero in "Robin Hood" and a renegade former Union solider in "Dances with Wolves."

But the psychological thriller "Mr. Brooks" shows us a Costner we've never seen before.

Costner stars as Earl Brooks, a successful business and family-man who is able to keep his murderous alter ego, played by William Hurt, at bay until a photographer played by Dane Cook sees him commit a crime.

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Photos: Kevin Costner Makes An Impression

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Much of the film's dialogue goes on in Earl's head. He and his alter ego argue about killing and confessing.

"It's a movie that's a perfect storm of pressure," Costner told The Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "Has an (alter)-ego banging on him. He has Dane Cook, kind of a wanna-be, who is, in a way, more insidious."

Serial killer movies are not the usual kind of films Costner makes and he said he won't even go see them. He chose "Mr. Brooks," which also stars Demi Moore as a detective working the case, because he said it has "some interesting entertainment value."

"This one had this weird thing where you found yourself, I think, laughing appropriately," he said. "And yet you understood why you were laughing. And I think you end up with a lot of empathy. And so, for me, this movie's not any different than 'Field of Dreams' in a way. It's just, hopefully, an American classic."

Costner said the story was presented to him in three parts — setting the stage for a sequel, something he has never done before. He wanted to know what the premise of the second movie would be even before the first one was made to make sure a series would work. But in the first movie his character never meets Moore, so the stage is set for a dramatic encounter somewhere down the line.

While Costner, 52, has been working harder than ever on his career, his personal life is also progressing. He and his wife of three years, Christine, just gave birth to a son, Caden Wyatt, two weeks ago. He is named after Costner's movie "Wyatt Erp."

"It's sweet. He's sweet," Costner said. "I told a story today to somebody that I woke up this morning — or yesterday when we flew into New York — woke up, was with him, looking at him, and he's so needy and so close. And then I got on the plane and I brought my two daughters who are 23 and 20 and they're so needy — and they both fell asleep in my lap, too. So it was like I had Caden, who is 2 weeks old, and then the five hours coming out here, there was Annie and Lilly — both took their turns."

Costner said Christine, who is much younger than him, made it clear she wanted to have a family. Being a father a second time around isn't much different, Costner said, because even when he was building his career, he said he made time for his three older kids.

"I went to all their games and I made that work around the movies and they were with me," he said. "I don't have to look back and go, 'Gee, doggone it.' So if anything, I thought I need to be as good to Caden as I feel like I was to those three. I have friends who said, 'The second time, I am really enjoying it.' I'm just really quiet in those conversations."

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Mr. Costner has always been a terrific actor in my book. When he's bored with certain scripts, however, he tends to slack off (Dragonfly is an example). But this will not be the first time he's shown his "dark side." Great performances in "A Perfect World" and "3000 Miles To Graceland" demonstrate this. I hope Mr. Costner gets the acclaim that he has been robbed of just because of Waterworld, which was a very entertaining movie even in my own opinion (and a lot of others---look at the worldwide gross). All the best to you Mr C!