# Costner's Robin Hood and scene stealing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 8, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953 "2010-07-08T13:05:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/1 "2010-07-08T13:05:51Z")
In Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, the star is supposed to be Kevin Costner. But pretty much every scene with a major character is stolen from him. The Sheriff steals all his scenes with Robin. And all his other scenes too. The Moor steals all his scenes with Robin. The Friar just about steals his scenes with Robin. Marion steals all her scenes with Robin. King Richard steals his scene from everyone. Really, the only significant characters who don’t steal their scenes with Robin are the comic relief, Little John, and Sir Guy. Was this deliberate? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/2 "2010-07-08T13:29:46Z")
It was not deliberate. It’s just that everything is tastier than white bread. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/3 "2010-07-08T13:34:05Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > It was not deliberate. It’s just that everything is tastier than white bread. I originally thought along those lines, but now I’m not so sure. Could it have been deliberate, perhaps to emphasise how much of an underdog Robin is? I’m not sure it was the original intent, mind, but perhaps after shooting a few scenes with Alan Rickman, they decided to run with it? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/4 "2010-07-08T14:02:51Z")
If any of Costner’s other roles were more emotive or otherwise memorable, I’d agree. But Robin Hood simply continued his flat, monotone style. RH was Costner at his usual blandness. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/5 "2010-07-08T16:27:11Z")
It is my opinion, Quartz, that Kevin Costner is unable to comprehend people from any culture other than modern America. I thought he did a fine job in \*No Way Out \*and _Field of Dreams_. However, \*Dances with Wolves \*is one of the most overrated movies I’ve ever seen and while I think _Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves_ is a great movie, Costner’s performance is the weakest part of the film. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/6 "2010-07-08T16:47:22Z")
While I enjoyed Costner in “Silverado”, for me his one and only impressive performance as an actor was in “No Way Out.” And he was perfectly cast in “The Big Chill.” . ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/7 "2010-07-08T16:53:51Z")
He did well in both _Wyatt Earp_ and _Open Range_, but his character in _Open Range_ was a quiet, laconic sort, and from what little I have read about the real Wyatt Earp, he wasn’t exactly a bombastic, frivolous chatter-box, either. “Stoic cowboy” is a good role for Costner. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/8 "2010-07-08T17:10:49Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > While I enjoyed Costner in “Silverado”, for me his one and only impressive performance as an actor was in “No Way Out.” > > And he was perfectly cast in “The Big Chill.” 😃 Agreed on all counts. _No Way Out_ is a great movie! I liked Costner in _The Untouchables_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/9 "2010-07-08T17:16:13Z")
I read somewhere that some of Alan Rickman’s scenes were cut from the film because Costner worried he would steal the show. He stole it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/10 "2010-07-08T21:18:12Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > In Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, the star is supposed to be Kevin Costner. > > But pretty much every scene with a major character is stolen from him. > > The Sheriff steals all his scenes with Robin. And all his other scenes too. > The Moor steals all his scenes with Robin. > The Friar just about steals his scenes with Robin. > Marion steals all her scenes with Robin. > King Richard steals his scene from everyone. > > Really, the only significant characters who don’t steal their scenes with Robin are the comic relief, Little John, and Sir Guy. > > Was this deliberate? I don’t know that I entirely agree with this, but in some cases it was deliberate. Certainly giving the big heroic speech to Azeem (the “Moor”) was a conscious undercutting of the prior movies; people commented on it at the time. And, of course, Morgan Freeman was made to say stuff like that. I wasn’t especially impressed with Mary Elizabeth Mastrontonio’s scene-stealing, though I liked her, and she was quite a hottie. The Friar was there for comic relief; by definition he had to steal the scene. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/11 "2010-07-08T22:02:10Z")
Nineteen years after seeing the movie, Rickman’s is the only supporting actor whose performance I remember. Heck, 19 _minutes_ after seeing the movie, Rickman’s is the only supporting actor whose performance I remembered, and I had no idea who he was at the time, so it wasn’t because I was a fan. I certainly knew who Freeman and Connery were, though, and can’t say that they made any distinct impression on me. And I agree that Kevin Costner was lost in the lead role. I liked him in _Field of Dreams_ and _Silverado_ though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/12 "2010-07-08T22:17:18Z")
Costner is quite good in Tin Cup and The Perfect Game and Bull Durham, all of which are wonderful movies in part because of Costner. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/13 "2010-07-08T22:30:00Z")
Well, scratch that theory. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/14 "2010-07-08T22:33:31Z")
Edit: wrong thread. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/15 "2010-07-08T23:14:54Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Costner is quite good in Tin Cup and The Perfect Game and Bull Durham, all of which are wonderful movies in part because of Costner. I totally agree with you, especially about _ **Tin Cup** _ and _ **Bull Durham** _ (Costner should just sit at home until Ron Shelton writes another sports movie), though in the latter film Tim Robbins did manage to steal the leading lady… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/16 "2010-07-08T23:35:03Z")
Costner is too old now to convincingly play a another star athlete, even a baseball player. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/17 "2010-07-08T23:36:36Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Costner is too old now to convincingly play a another star athlete, even a baseball player. Couldn’t he be a baseball manager or football coach or something? That isn’t snark. I don’t know from sports and have no idea what a baseball manager does. Must one be young? And how old can golfers be? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/18 "2010-07-09T00:15:54Z")
Golfers can be 50ish without problems and baseball managers can be quite old. But there are only two really good golf movies for the general public, Caddyshack and Tin Cup, and I don’t see that number as increasing. A movie about a baseball manager wouldn’t work as the player action would overshadow a leading role type manager. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/19 "2010-07-09T00:19:20Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Golfers can be 50ish without problems and baseball managers can be quite old. But there are only two really good golf movies for the general public, Caddyshack and Tin Cup, and I don’t see that number as increasing. A movie about a baseball manager wouldn’t work as the player action would overshadow a leading role type manager. So he could do a spiritual sequel to Bull Durham in which he was playing a baseball manager envying the players who are enjoying current iteration of Susan Sarandon, no? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2010, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953/20 "2010-07-09T00:22:21Z")
Who relaxes by playing golf on the weekends. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/costners-robin-hood-and-scene-stealing/545953.md?page=2)