Kevin Costner's come a long way since playing the barely-seen dead body at the very start of The Big Chill in 1983. He picked up some key supporting and then leading roles throughout the rest of the 1980s, and then was an undeniable superstar by the early 1990s. Starring in one's own directorial debut - which also happened to win Best Picture, Best Director, and some other awards at the Oscars - will do that to one's career, and it's therefore understandable why Dances with Wolves is one of Costner's most well-known movies.

But beyond the likes of Dances with Wolves, The Untouchables, JFK, and Field of Dreams lie a host of lesser-known and generally underrated movies Costner's appeared in. He's a prolific actor who's been working steadily for almost four decades now, so it can be expected that a few titles will fly under the radar. Some of these were well-received, of course, but don't get talked about quite as often as his biggest hits, and are ranked below.

10 'Revenge' (1990)

Director: Tony Scott

It’s nice when a movie tells you exactly what it is with as few words as possible. Case in point, Revenge, which might not be one of the very best movies Tony Scott ever directed, but it definitely has its merits. Kevin Costner plays a man who’s just left the U.S. Navy, and reconnects with a wealthy (and criminal) older friend of his, played by Anthony Quinn.

This friend also has a new and much younger wife (Madeleine Stowe), so when Costner’s character falls for her, bloodshed and tragedy ensue, eventually leading to some titular revenge. Given it’s been several decades since Revenge came out, much of it does happen to feel quite old-fashioned and very early 1990s in its approach/mix of romance and thriller elements, but it’s solid and more than watchable, likely being overshadowed by that other 1990 Costner film with the wolves and the dancing.

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9 'Let Him Go' (2020)

Director: Thomas Bezucha

Kevin Costner’s long been associated with the Western genre, and has been keeping it alive in recent years by starring in the exceedingly popular show Yellowstone as well as directing the upcoming epic Horizon: An American Saga. Less well-known but still worthy of a watch, however, is Let Him Go, which follows a sheriff and his wife trying to rescue their grandson from a group of dangerous individuals.

No one’s going to be blown away by a premise like that, because the central plot of Let Him Go is undoubtedly simple. But the film makes it work, and there are more exciting aspects to the film when it comes to its characters and some of the thematic material it touches upon. It’s another solid flick with a lead role by Costner, though not quite as talked about as some of those other recent Western projects he’s been involved with.

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8 'Wyatt Earp' (1994)

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

The first thing that jumps out about Wyatt Earp is the massive runtime that exceeds three hours, and the second thing that jumps out about Wyatt Earp is the fact that it came out shortly after the superior Tombstone, with both being narratively similar. Wyatt Earp is more of an expansive biographical film about the titular lawman, but both films end up focusing a good chunk of runtime on the lead-up to the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

So long as one’s okay with a Western having a truly epic length, there are plenty of technical qualities to admire in Wyatt Earp and the cast is also strong across the board. It wasn’t a huge hit critically or financially by any means, but in hindsight, perhaps it’s fair to call it a little over-hated.

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7 'For Love of the Game' (1999)

Director: Sam Raimi

Between goofing around with Bruce Campbell/making the best horror trilogy of all time and defining himself as an all-time great director of comic book movies, Sam Raimi made For Love of the Game, which is possibly the least Raimi-esque movie he’s ever directed. It’s a fairly gentle and steadily-paced movie about baseball, focusing on an aging player (Costner) who’s now over 40, and wants to step away from the game he loves with a bang... or at least in style.

It can join Field of Dreams and Bull Durham, of course, as baseball movies starring Kevin Costner, but both those films are more distinctive and overall better. Still, anyone who’s fond of sentimental and easily approachable sports movies will likely find this one entertaining and engaging, and there’s a certain novelty in watching a film of this kind while knowing it was directed by Raimi (a bit like with David Lynch and The Straight Story).

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6 'McFarland, USA' (2015)

Director: Niki Caro

Speaking of engaging sports movies, McFarland, USA is yet another that Kevin Costner’s starred in, though he plays a coach here rather than an athlete. He lives in a small town in California and the movie depicts him training a group of young people to excel when it comes to track events, giving them hope to one day have what it takes to be champions.

It’s a basic premise that could be used to describe many sports movies, but those who like this genre know what they’re getting into, for the most part. The vast majority of sports movies are underdog stories, and underdog stories are undeniably satisfying when it comes to being exciting and emotional. Additionally, it has to be said that Costner’s very good here as a source of motivation for the younger characters in McFarland, USA.

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5 'Mr. Brooks' (2007)

Director: Bruce A. Evans

Mr. Brooks is up there among the best of Kevin Costner’s 21st-century movies, and admittedly, it’s a little more well-known than some of the aforementioned (as well as some of the soon-to-be-mentioned) titles. But it’s not like it’s one of his very best-known movies, and it’s also worth bringing up because it sees Costner playing against type, given he plays a businessman/serial killer with a dangerous alter ego.

It's something of a modern take on the classic (and often adapted) novella known as Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and so it doesn’t have a ton to offer for those who are well-versed in psychological crime/thriller/horror movies. But Mr. Brooks is something different within Costner’s filmography, and he disappears into the lead role surprisingly well here, helping to make it all quite a tense watch throughout.

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4 'No Way Out' (1987)

Director: Roger Donaldson

Even though Gene Hackman steals the show in No Way Out, thanks to his great villainous performance, you can’t really blame Kevin Costner. Gene Hackman’s Gene Hackman, after all, and Costner is still good in the lead role of this straightforward yet slick thriller, which centers on two powerful men both falling for the same woman, which leads to a series of shocking and increasingly dramatic events.

Perhaps a little like Revenge, No Way Out feels of its time, but that can make it work nowadays for those who want a throwback, or perhaps something that might even feel nostalgic for anyone who was around back when this style of movie was popular. It might not rewrite the book when it comes to thriller/suspense movies, but it’s consistently engaging and a good deal of it will likely keep most viewers on their toes to some extent.

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3 'Silverado' (1985)

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Silverado packs a punch as both an action movie and a Western, and features a great ensemble cast with Kevin Costner being just one part of it, in a key supporting role that helped boost his profile. He’s joined by the likes of Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, Rosanna Arquette, Jeff Goldblum, John Cleese, and fellow Kevin, Kevin Kline, to name just a few (it might take all day, otherwise).

The plot of Silverado, on the other hand, is relatively direct, with it revolving around a group of rebellious heroes trying to save their town and its inhabitants from the influence of a sinister corrupt sheriff and his forces. The 1980s might not have been the best of decades for the humble Western, but Silverado was successful in keeping the spirit of the genre alive to some extent; at least long enough for Costner to revitalize it further in 1990, with Dances with Wolves.

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2 'A Perfect World' (1993)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Two legendary directors/actors associated with the Western genre joined forces for A Perfect World, with Clint Eastwood directing the film and playing a supporting role, and Kevin Costner starring in it. That being said, A Perfect World is not a Western, instead being something of a character-focused crime/drama movie about a fugitive (Costner) becoming an unlikely father figure for a boy he takes as a hostage, with Eastwood playing a Texas Ranger trying to track him down.

A Perfect World might have a premise that sounds like a stretch, but the film makes it work, and both Costner and Eastwood feel right at home within a movie like this (both behind and in front of the camera, regarding the latter). It’s a quiet and patiently paced movie, but it’s got a strange kind of charm and undeniable atmosphere to it, and is well worth checking for anyone who might’ve overlooked it.

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1 'Open Range' (2003)

Director: Kevin Costner

Dances with Wolves, as mentioned before, was a huge success, while Costner’s second directorial effort, The Postman, was rather infamously not very good. For his third movie as director, he returned to the Western genre to make Open Range, with this overlooked 2003 movie honestly being close in quality to Dances with Wolves, and arguably Costner’s most underrated effort as either actor or director.

He stars in the movie as a gunslinger standing up to a corrupt lawman and his forces, with this simple Western premise being executed well and remaining consistently tense and exciting throughout. Costner does a good job at both directing and acting, and he’s further helped by an excellent cast that includes Robert Duvall (the film’s MVP), Annette Bening, and a wonderfully villainous Michael Gambon.

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