“The song ‘I Will Always Love You’ wasn’t supposed to be in the movie,” Kevin Costner revealed in a moving speech for his costar in ‘The Bodyguard,’ Whitney Houston at her funeral. “The first choice was going to be ‘What Becomes of a Broken Heart?’” he said. “So what becomes of our broken hearts?”Thus Costner led a nearly 15-minute ode to Houston, arguably the most entertaining and heartwarming of her memorial service. Costner shared anecdotes of his and Houston’s memories of growing up in the Baptist church, their childhood mischief and their time together on set.

Costner dished on Houston’s audition for ‘The Bodyguard,’ a role that he fought for tooth and nail for her to win — including a funny story about running makeup.

“The Whitney I knew,” Costner said, “despite her success and worldwide fame, still wondered: Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me? It was the burden that made her great and the part that cause her to stumble in the end.”

Costner’s voice began to break as he concluded his love letter to the late legend, drawing attention to the parallels between her role in ‘The Bodyguard’ and the rest of her life. “Whitney, if you could hear me now, I would tell you: You weren’t just good enough. You were great,” he said. “You sang the whole damn song without a band. You made the picture what it was. A lot of leading men could have played my part … But you, Whitney, I truly believe were the only one who could have played Rachel Maron at that time,” Costner sighed.

“People didn’t just like you, Whitney. They loved you.”

 

Watch Kevin Costner’s Speech at Whitney Houston’s Funeral

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