In recent years, Kevin Costner has spent much of his career riding across open plains in several iconic Western projects. Since his first Western film, Silverado, in 1985, the actor has been drawn to the saddle, hat, and long ride into the sunset. From his Oscar-winning performances in Dances With Wolves (1990) and Open Range (2003) to the hit TV series Yellowstone, Costner’s name has become synonymous with the Western genre.
Yet, long before he became the face of modern Westerns, Kevin Costner proved he could lead a different kind of story. That time, it wasn’t set in the dust and plains but in the shadowy streets of Prohibition-era Chicago. Brian De Palma’s 1987 crime film The Untouchables remains one of the defining moments of Costner’s career. While Costner’s filmography is packed with several other classics, The Untouchables stands out as a sharp, fast-paced crime thriller that showcases his commanding presence and solidifies his place as a bona fide movie star.
The Untouchables was Kevin Costner’s Breakthrough Role
Before Kevin Costner’s breakout role in the 1987 crime movie The Untouchables, his career in Hollywood was still relatively young, having begun in 1981. Although he gained attention with small roles and near-misses, his breakthrough role didn’t arrive until 1987. When Brian De Palma cast him as Eliot Ness, the real-life federal agent determined to bring down notorious gangster Al Capone, it was a gamble. At the time, Costner wasn’t yet a household name, and the role required a kind of quiet intensity that many believed a more seasoned movie star could pull off. However, Kevin Costner delivered. His portrayal of Eliot Ness was steady, confident, and deeply compelling without ever resorting to theatrics.
Surrounded by powerhouse performances, including Sean Connery’s Oscar-winning turn as veteran cop Jim Malone and Robert De Niro’s larger-than-life take on Capone, Costner’s performance anchored the film with moral clarity. He played Ness as a man driven by duty rather than ego, the rare honest figure in a city drowning in corruption. In many ways, The Untouchables gave audiences their first glimpse of the Costner they would come to know. While his archetype, the stoic, principled hero who fights for justice, would later echo through many of his Westerns, it was born in this Chicago crime drama.
Why The Untouchables Resonated with Audiences More Than His Westerns
Kevin Costner’s Westerns are undeniably iconic. Dances with Wolves won him two Oscars, and Yellowstone has turned him into a modern TV legend. While these Westerns have been critical successes, for audiences, The Untouchables holds a special place in Costner’s career. Ideally, it’s where audiences first connected with the qualities that defined his future characters. The Untouchables holds an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score, the highest audience rating for a Costner-led movie, and an 8.0/10 IMDb rating. The reason isn’t even far-fetched. Costner had an A-list supporting cast, who not only drew audiences to the film but helped push Costner to new heights.
The dynamic forced Costner to hold his own among legends, and he rose to the occasion. Audiences watching him navigate the moral weight of his choices gave The Untouchables its lasting impression. Produced on a $25 million budget, The Untouchables grossed an impressive $106.2 million after its theatrical run. If anything, its success at the Box Office in 1987 was a testament to audience approval. The movie became Costner’s highest-grossing film and his first to cross the $100 million milestone, a record that was surpassed by Dances With Wolves in 1990.
The Legacy of Kevin Costner-led The Untouchables
Nearly four decades later, The Untouchables still stands as one of Kevin Costner’s highest-rated films, according to audience scores and ratings. However, the movie is often overshadowed by his later projects, especially for younger audiences. Older audiences who watched the actor’s evolution from action and romantic dramas to Westerns know that The Untouchables was truly Kevin Costner at his best, unfiltered.
When audiences look back on his career, The Untouchables often feels like the starting point of everything that came after. The film remains even more iconic today, despite its planned prequel movie being canceled. For audiences new to Costner or a bit weary of his Westerns, The Untouchables remains a good place to appreciate the actor’s versatility.
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