Kevin Costner sings praises of Cary native; show continues Tuesday

A Cary native and co-producer of an upcoming mini-series on the History Channel has made a lifelong friend in Kevin Costner.

Starring as Devil Anse Hatfield in “Hatfields & McCoys,” Costner worked closely with Aaron Semmel, a 1993 graduate of Cary-Grove High School. The show premiered at 8 p.m. Monday. It continues 8 p.m. Tuesday.

In a phone interview, Costner joked that he just had to “gush” about Semmel.

“If it wasn’t for him, I think a lot of things wouldn’t have gotten done for me,” Costner said.

“This guy... he was such a can-do person. I saw him juggle 100 things and work closely with me. He had responsibilities all over this production, and yet where I was concerned, he really helped in a lot of creative decisions.”

The mini-series tells the story of the feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and the McCoys of Kentucky. Bill Paxton plays Randall McCoy, the rival of Costner’s character. Other stars include Powers Boothe, Tom Berenger, Mare Winningham and more.

A true American story, the feud spanned decades and nearly launched a war between the two states. The story begins near the end of the Civil War.

“We worked really hard, but we were inspired,” Costner said. “When you’re inspired, it seems like things flow.”

Several years ago, Semmel began working on the project, a 30-year dream of his bosses at Thinkfactory Media in Los Angeles, executive producers Leslie Grief and Darrell Fetty.

“We all knew we had something special,” said Semmel, who graduated film school at Columbia College Chicago and moved to Hollywood about 10 years ago. He also appeared as a contestant on the first season of “The Biggest Loser” in 2004.

Semmel makes a brief appearance in the mini-series, as well as the trailer, “on the receiving end of a deadly bayonet from Bill Paxton during the Civil War,” he said.

Costner’s name immediately came to mind during the writing process, Semmel said, although no one quite believed they could land the star.

The group sent the script to Costner’s agent, and Costner took on the role immediately after reading it.

Costner said he already had a working knowledge of the true-life story behind the feud.

“It was epic,” he said.

And the script was well-written, he said. It doesn’t stray too far from the historic accounts of the feud, as well as the love story – “part of what made the story so sentimental” – of Devil Anse’s son and the daughter of Randall McCoy.

“As long as I choose to be in the story-telling business, I need to go after what I feel is the best story I can tell,” Costner said.

That’s more important than striving for any sort of blockbuster appeal, said Costner, whose next role is in an upcoming 2013 Superman movie, “Man of Steel.” Costner plays the superhero’s Earth father, Jonathan Kent.

“I’m passionate about everything I do, whether it’s music or movies or friendship or how I conduct my life,” he said. “I need to be connected to what I do.”

His intense connection to the project also led to an album for his country rock band, Modern West, written "specifically about my experiences on the set of Hatfields and McCoys," he said.
One of his songs, "Famous for Killing Each Other," is used in the series.

“You could refer to it as a concept album,” he said. “Everything is tied exactly to this film experience.”

Formed in 2005, the band likely will perform a couple of those songs during an upcoming performance July 14 at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Costner said. (Tickets for the show will range in price from $69 to $175 and are set to go on sale at 10 a.m. Monday at www.oshows.com.)

Costner said he recognized a familiar passion in Semmel, who’s “heart is absolutely in Chicago.”

“I don’t know anybody that loves his city as much as he does,” he said.

“He’s just a quality individual,” Costner said. “I would work with him in a second. He already has a job. I’m looking to poach him. I know the day he decides to leave, I’ll want to know where he’s at.”

The Hatfields & McCoys, co-produced by Cary native Aaron Semmel, premiers at 8 p.m. on Memorial Day on The History Channel. Part 2 is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Tuesday. The six-hour mini-series features Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Tom Berenger and more. For more information on the show, go to

[ www.history.com/shows/hatfields-and-mccoys ]

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