Editing Kevin Costner (section)

=== 1981–1986: Rise to prominence ===
Costner made his film debut in ''[[Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.]]'' (1981).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Gazette|last=Brownstein|first=Bill|title=Today's stars hide some cinematic skeletons|date=May 3, 1991| page=29|location=Montreal, Canada|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-gazette-costner-sizzle-beach/127549054/}}</ref> Costner played a minor role as "Frat Boy #1" in the [[Ron Howard]] film ''[[Night Shift (1982 film)|Night Shift]]'' (1982).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whatculture.com/film/10-more-huge-actors-you-didn-t-notice-as-extras-in-movies|title=10 More Huge Actors You Didn't Notice As Extras In Movies|first=Jack|last=Pooley|website=WhatCulture.com|date=December 27, 2022}}</ref> In 1983, Costner starred in ''[[Stacy's Knights]]''.<ref name=SR>{{cite web|title=Every Kevin Costner Movie, Ranked Worst To Best|author=Mendes, Sam|date=November 12, 2024|url=https://screenrant.com/kevin-costner-movies-ranked/|website=[[Screen Rant]]}}</ref>

Costner appeared in a commercial for the [[Apple Lisa]] and ''[[Table for Five]]'' in 1983, and, the same year, had a small role in the [[nuclear holocaust]] film ''[[Testament (1983 film)|Testament]]''. Later, he was cast in ''[[The Big Chill (film)|The Big Chill]]'' and filmed several scenes that were planned as flashbacks, but they were removed from the final cut.<ref name=tca/> His role was that of Alex, the friend who committed suicide, the event that brings the rest of the cast together.  Costner was a friend of director [[Lawrence Kasdan]], who promised the actor a role in a future project.<ref name=tca/> That became ''[[Silverado (film)|Silverado]]'' (1985) and a breakout role for Costner.<ref name=tca/> He also starred that year in the smaller films ''[[Fandango (1985 film)|Fandango]]'' and ''[[American Flyers]]'' and appeared alongside [[Kiefer Sutherland]] in an hour-long special episode of [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''[[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|Amazing Stories]]''.