WILD frontier

Kevin Costner traces the history of the American West

- By Natasha Holt, Ian Macewan, Steven Perkins

NEW HISTORY Kevin Costner's The West Monday, 9pm, Sky History

Kevin Costner's 1991 Oscar-winning western Dances with Wolves saw the Hollywood star play a Union army soldier who is transferred to the American frontier, where he forms a close bond with Sioux Native Americans.

Now, in a new eight-part documentary series, the actor and producer of contemporary western Yellowstone joins historians to tell the story of the westward expansion of the United States, from the first white settlers through the Civil War and right up to the present day.

'I am drawn to history and I am drawn to the West,' explains the 70-year-old, who has also played legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. 'I want to come back to what drove us across this country, and the drama that came with it.'

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