Kevin Costner - Kevin Costner Finished Whitney Tribute On The Way To Her Funeral

The Dances with Wolves star shunned all requests to comment on Houston's passing following her sudden death in February (12), because he didn't feel the time or the "forum" was right to open up about his close friendship with the I Will Always Love You hitmaker.

But Costner ultimately mustered up the courage to put his feelings into words for the tragic superstar's funeral service after her cousin Dionne Warwick called in a favour.

And now the 57 year old has opened up about his struggles to find the right words for the emotional speech, admitting he was forced to pull over on his way to the ceremony to wrap up his tribute at a local park.

He tells People magazine, "I was nervous. I wrote it up to the last hour before going into church. I didn't realise so many people felt the need to hear from me. I had to think long and hard about what I wanted to say.

"My wife (Christine Baumgartner) and I pulled off to the side of the road and went to a park to finish it."