Kevin Costner initially wanted to grieve the death of his friend and costar Whitney Houston privately after learning she died on February 11, 2012, at the age of 48. But when legendary singer Dionne Warwick called, things changed. The cousin of the "I Will Always Love You" singer asked Kevin to speak at Whitney's memorial service.
"Whitney was certainly so worthy to talk about, but it's not my first instinct to go out there, to rush to the mic," the 69-year-old actor told People magazine in June 2024 for a cover story. "But I got a call from Dionne Warwick and I could tell in her voice she was broken. I said yes to her when I had been saying no all week."
"I heard in her voice how tired she was, how many decisions she was probably having to make, who would speak, who wouldn't speak," he continued. "She goes, 'Kevin, can I ask you?' and I [just] said, 'Yes.'"
Kevin and Whitney developed a close relationship while shooting the 1992 film The Bodyguard. Even still, he had second thoughts after agreeing to give a speech at her memorial.
More from LittleThings: Whitney Houston's Best Friend Revealed The True Extent Of Their Love Affair & Relationship
"I'm thinking, 'Why am I speaking? I just was her imaginary bodyguard,'" he explained, adding that he'd made "a promise to protect" her during the shooting of the film. "I didn't read the tea leaves correctly, how much it meant to other people," he said.
He then went on to recall how moved he was by the service, which was held at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. "I remember being in the pews, and I had never been in a church that was more electric. Two bands were playing," he said. "I thought this place was on fire."
Kevin also recalled his response to someone trying to convince him to make his speech short because CNN was covering the memorial. "I said, 'I'm sorry, I didn't realize CNN was here, but they can take a commercial break,'" he shared. "'I'm going to say what I want to say. I came a long way to talk about this little girl.'"
But even with being adamant about delivering his full speech, which ended up being 17 minutes long, Kevin felt nervous. "I remember looking back and seeing Diane Sawyer and Oprah Winfrey," he said. "I think they were sitting together, and I went, 'Can you do my speech?' I really wanted them to do it. I didn't want to go up, but I did."
"So what becomes of our broken hearts?" he said during the eulogy. "Whitney returns home today, to the place where it all began, and I urge us all, inside and outside, across the nation and around the world, to dry our tears, suspend our sorrow, and perhaps our anger, just long enough, just long enough to remember the sweet miracle of Whitney."
"You weren’t just pretty — you were as beautiful as a woman could be. And people didn’t just like you, Whitney — they loved you," he stated during the speech. "I was your pretend bodyguard once not so long ago, and now you’re gone too soon, leaving us with memories of a little girl who stepped bravely in front of this church, in front of the ones that loved you first, in front of the ones that loved you best and loved you the longest."
