Hatfields & McCoys is a three-night, six-hour epic event – airing on HISTORY on May 28^th, 29^th and 30^th – that tells the true American story of a legendary family feud that spanned decades and nearly launched a war between Kentucky and West Virginia. Devil Anse Hatfield (Academy Award winner Kevin Costner) and Randall McCoy (Bill Paxton) were close friends and comrades until near the end of the Civil War, when they returned to their neighboring homes and resentments soon exploded between the families. As retaliations grew and more and more family members were horrifically murdered, the feud made international headlines, changing the families and the history of the region forever.

During this recent interview to promote the mini-series, actor Kevin Costner talked about how he got involved with the project, his personal interest in American history, the extent of the research he did, how much he enjoyed working with this ensemble of actors, finding the right hat to embody the character, shooting such an American story in Romania, reuniting with his Waterworld and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves director Kevin Reynolds for the project, and determining how much dramatic license you can take when telling a historical tale. He also talked about the eight-hour Western he would like to direct, and the characters that are closest to his heart. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Memorial Day is still quite awhile off, but that’s not stopping the History Channel from teasing you with a sneak peek trailer at their forthcoming drama series Hatfields & McCoys, the chronicle of one of the most infamous family rivalries in American history. Kevin Costner plays “Devil” Anse Hatfield and Bill Paxton plays Randall McCoy in the three-part miniseries from that hits cable this summer. This trailer looks damn good, and seems like a fine return to the Western genre for Costner who has delivered such classics as Dances with Wolves. Check out the trailer after the jump along with a short synopsis of the conflict between the Hatfields and McCoys.