Kevin Costner said he refused to shorten his 17-minute eulogy for Whitney Houston: "I was her imaginary bodyguard."

Kevin Costner has opened up about his friendship with Whitney Houston, more than 30 years after they filmed "The Bodyguard" together. Costner also spoke about his eulogy for the late singer, who died in 2012 at the age of 48, telling the "Armchair Expert" podcast that he refused to let his speech for his friend be cut short.

Costner, who not only starred in but produced the 1992 film, said he saw Houston on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and knew he wanted to cast her in the movie, which is about a singer who has a stalker and falls in love with her bodyguard.

Costner said the film's director, Mick Johnson, didn't want to cast Houston. "She's really smart. That was a movie I probably should have directed. I just thought somebody could do a better job. But he was uncomfortable with her," he told hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. "She was my choice. So I was the actor. I produced it. I picked her."