The late Whitney Houston has a legacy for her catalogue of beloved music, in addition to her career as an actress. She was recently honored with a biopic titled Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (read the reviews here), but as far as movies go she’s perhaps best known for her acclaimed performance in The Bodyguard. And it turns out that her iconic poster with Kevin Costner doesn’t actually feature Houstin. Let’s break it all down.
Mick Jackson’s The Bodyguard was released back in 1992, and both Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner’s performances (plus the soundtrack) still remain an iconic part of pop culture to this day. The poster is also super recognizable, with Costner seemingly carrying Houston in his arms from one of the movie’s scenes. But that’s actually not the case, as the Yellowstone actor explained to EW:
That wasn’t even Whitney actually. She had gone home and that was her double, and her head was buried into my shoulder, which was appropriate anyway. She was frightened.
Well, my mind is blown. While Whitney Houston’s voice and performance is all over The Bodyguard, it turns out that the poster wasn’t actually her. Instead, her double stood in and got carried by Kevin Costner. It kind of brings a new meaning to the movie’s title, no? Although given how busy Houston presumably was with the movie and her music career, it does make logistical sense.
Kevin Costner’s revelation about The Bodyguard’s poster comes after the movie recently celebrated its whopping 30th anniversary. And with so many people out there currently thinking about Whitney Houston’s legacy and struggles thanks to her recent biopic, smart money says that the 1992 drama is going to be getting plenty of re-watches.
Later in that same interview, Kevin Costner explained why the poster for The Bodyguard stood out to him so much. After all, Whitney Houston wasn’t even present. He offered his perspective at the time, saying:
I picked that picture out because my friend Ben Glass took it…I sent it to Warner Brothers and I go, ‘There’s the poster.’ Because it was so evocative. It wasn’t special photography; it wasn’t anything.
It turns out that Kevin Costner and company actually got some pushback over the Bodyguard poster, namely because Whitney Houston wasn’t visible. After all, she was an insanely popular recording artist who had generations of fans at the time (and still does). As he shared:
Later: They didn’t like it at first because you couldn’t see Whitney’s face. And so they sent me like five mockups where they put her head [on it] where she’s looking [out]. I said ‘Guys, I think we had it the first time.’ That it was really, and that ended up being the poster.
While the public sees a finished product with new movies, it’s always thrilling to get an insider perspective on how the sausage gets made. On top of starring as Frank Farmer, Kevin Costner was also a producer on The Bodyguard. And as such, he was intimately involved in various aspects of its production, including that poster.
The Bodyguard is currently available to rent in places like Amazon, and there was a remake in development. Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody is still in theaters now. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
