( CNN ) -- A blockbuster movie could not have been scripted better : a woman whose unparalleled voice earned her the kind of single-name recognition that felt like an unbearable burden . Fitting , then , that superstar Kevin Costner should eulogize his co-star in this way . At Whitney Houston 's funeral Saturday , Costner recalled a woman who doubted herself when she need not have . He revealed how Houston was chosen to star with him in the 1992 movie `` the Bodyguard . '' Few had confidence in Houston -- she had never acted before . A lot was riding on this role , he said , and the studio was unsure about giving it to a black woman . But Costner thought she was perfect , though she would have to prove it to the studio with a screen test . In her trailer , he took her nervous hands in his ; told her she looked beautiful . `` I could still feel the doubt , '' he said . She asked for some time and after 20 minutes appeared for the screen test . `` We had n't said four lines when we had to stop , '' Costner recalled . `` I needed to know what she had done in those 20 minutes . '' He stood her in front of a mirror , her makeup running down her face . In those 20 minutes , she had wiped off the studio makeup and applied her own , the thick heavy kind she wore for her music videos , the kind that melted under the heat of studio lights . She did n't think the lighter makeup made her look good enough . To Costner , Houston seemed so small and sad at that moment . `` You were n't just pretty . You were as beautiful as a woman could be , '' Costner said in front of a packed Newark church . `` Whitney , if you could hear me now , I would tell you : You were n't just good enough . You were great . You sang the whole damn song without a band . '' Costner , of course , was referring to Houston 's signature song : `` I Will Always Love You '' from `` The Bodyguard . '' `` A lot of leading men could have played my part , but you , Whitney , I truly believe , you were the only one who could have played Rachel Marin . '' For her closest friends inside that church Saturday , and strangers who continue to draw inspiration from her voice , Costner 's words hit a painfully honest note about human frailty . `` It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble again , '' he said . Years after `` The Bodyguard '' hit theaters , reports of Houston 's struggles with drug addiction and a rocky marriage with Bobby Brown surfaced and her album sales declined . `` The inexplicable burden that comes with fame , '' Costner said . `` Call it doubt . Call it fear . I 've had mine . I know the famous in the room have had theirs . '' Costner said Houston 's own story could help a new generation of young girls who dream big . `` Maybe they 're thinking they are n't good enough , '' he said . `` I think Whitney would tell you : Guard your bodies . Guard the precious miracle of your life . Then sing your hearts out , knowing that there 's a lady in heaven who 's making God himself wonder how he created something so perfect . `` So off you go , Whitney . Off you go , '' Costner said in closing . `` Escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father . And when you sing before him , do n't you worry . You 'll be good enough . ''
Costner recalls a woman who doubted herself . He reveals how she was chosen to star in 'The Bodyguard ' 'You were as beautiful as a woman could be , ' he says . The actor also talks about his first experience with drugs and alcohol - the 'bad stuff'.