With reporting by Nicole Pajer

How great of an actor is Kevin Costner?

Before you answer, consider this: In "McFarland, USA," he convincingly plays a man who has dedicated his whole life to his one passion, running. Like, you will watch this movie, and you will truly believe that this character loves running, and coaching running, more than anything on the whole damn planet.

But here's the kicker: In real life, Kevin Costner hates running! He hates it with the burning, white-hot heat of a thousand fiery suns.

"I hate running," Costner told MTV News. "I don't want to run anywhere."

The actor expounds a bit about the rare circumstances under which he will run (in the context of playing some other sport, basically), but he's clearly grateful that his role in "McFarland, USA" required only that he simulate a love of running, without ever having to actually move his legs.

"That's the beauty of being a coach: You don't have to run," he said.

The rest of the cast? Alas, not so lucky.

"The director, Niki [Caro], really chose people to play these roles who fit into them naturally, so that many of these people are just like their characters, or really have similar traits," said Hector Duran, who plays one of the movie's gifted cross-country runners. "She chose that, and then we had to learn how to run."

For more on the training the cast went through, watch the full interview above. "McFarland, USA" hits theaters today, February 20.