"I haven't tried to buffer myself. I like rolling the dice"
About this Quote
Costner’s line lands like a shrug with teeth: a refusal to live behind padding. “I haven’t tried to buffer myself” isn’t just about risk; it’s about skipping the emotional shock absorbers most famous people are trained to install. In celebrity culture, buffering is the whole job: PR filters, brand-safe choices, carefully managed likability. Costner frames his opposite approach as a preference, not a virtue, which is why it sounds believable. He’s not preaching grit; he’s admitting appetite.
“I like rolling the dice” does double duty. It’s gambler language, yes, but it also nods to the actor’s reality: careers are probabilistic, not meritocratic. You can do the “right” project and still vanish. You can bet wrong and survive anyway if the industry needs your type. By describing uncertainty as something he enjoys, Costner flips the usual Hollywood narrative where success is presented as strategy. The subtext: control is overrated, and the myth of control is exhausting.
Context matters because Costner’s public arc has always been high-stakes: blockbuster peaks, critical blowback, and the kind of comeback narrative that only exists if you keep placing bets after you’ve been burned. The quote reads as both self-justification and self-mythmaking. It tells audiences: if you’re seeing me stumble, you’re also seeing me alive. That’s a shrewd bargain in an era obsessed with optimization.
“I like rolling the dice” does double duty. It’s gambler language, yes, but it also nods to the actor’s reality: careers are probabilistic, not meritocratic. You can do the “right” project and still vanish. You can bet wrong and survive anyway if the industry needs your type. By describing uncertainty as something he enjoys, Costner flips the usual Hollywood narrative where success is presented as strategy. The subtext: control is overrated, and the myth of control is exhausting.
Context matters because Costner’s public arc has always been high-stakes: blockbuster peaks, critical blowback, and the kind of comeback narrative that only exists if you keep placing bets after you’ve been burned. The quote reads as both self-justification and self-mythmaking. It tells audiences: if you’re seeing me stumble, you’re also seeing me alive. That’s a shrewd bargain in an era obsessed with optimization.
Quote Details
| Topic | Live in the Moment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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