KEVIN BACON
has pinballed wildly between success and failure, but has always managed to do things his way. He talks to Alistair Harkness about why he’s never moved to Hollywood, why promoting his new film is a drag, and why Footloose fans should go to the movies
more often.
it l‘lq‘). .t _\ear alter lattdtttg his first lilm rnle itt ,liimtti/ llntnt . Ke\ tit Haenn laeed tlte tnughest deeisinn nl his eareer. l'nr the past lnur wars he‘d heen hxmg tit New \nrk. stud} ittg .teting .tt tlte presttginus ('irele in tlte Square l)rama Sehnnl. \\nt'king nl'l'rllrnadua) and taking tlte neeasinnal entttntereial tn keep hintsell allnat. lle \\as dning ()ls. hut lar l'rnnt gt'eat. .litiiitu/ llnust' ltad heen a ltit thanks In tlte sa\age enmie \\ll nl' .lnhn Belushi. httt llaenn's rnle \\ as small and he hadn‘t heett paid that mueh. He needed a hreak.
l.tiekil_\ that hreak “as ahnut tn ennte. Baenn. then nnl} 3 l. \\as asked tn nin\ e In l.ns ;\ngeles tn take tlte lead in a ne\\ 'l‘\' series. l‘nr an aetnr \\ltn still \\aited tahles In pa} tlte rettt nn his rnaeh—inl'ested l'pper liast Side aparttnettt. tlte nppnl‘ltllllt} seemed hea\en sent. Indeed. sinee tlte nnl_\ ntlter aeting nn tlte eards \\as a three-line part in a pla}. tlte ehanee In gn In llnll_\\\nnd atid earn mnre mnne} than he had e\ er dreamed nl~ “as a nn~hrainet1
\atttrall). tltett. he did tlte nnl} thing he enuld dn: he npted l'nr tlte p|a_\.
‘l \\as nn stage lnr like a titinute—and—a-hall. httt it \\as a great pla_\.~ shrugs Baenn a quarter nl' a eentur_\ later. ‘I just l'elt like in} life attd m} eareer needed In he shaped h_\ m_\ tinte spent itt .\'e\\ ank \snrking nl'lllh'ntttlutty'
(‘ast )nur e} e n\ er Haenn's strange. \aried (‘\’ and it heenmes elear that tlte 4(i—_\ear-n|d aetnr has ne\et' reall} lnst that _\ntlllllttl tenaeit}. 'l'hnugh he‘s pinhalled \\lltll_\ hetueen sueeess and l'ailure. qualit} attd llttl'l‘. lame attd nhsettrit}. he‘s dnne it all nn ltis n\\n terms. .\'e\er ntn\ing tn llnll_\\\nnd. httt happy ennugh tn take its
mnne_\. he‘s sur\i\ed the pntential llttllgltll} nl'
heing an Nils ientt tl-nnI/nmei attd the inspiratinn hit a hnat‘d gattte ttlte inin—the-dnts llnll_\\\nnd qui/ Six Degrees at Kt'i'in li’tu'mi) tn emerge latterl} as ntte nl Ameriea‘s hest. il' mnst underrated. aetnrs.
Sueh a eat'eer makes it dil'lieult tn antieipate \\ hat the titan \xill he like in pet'snn. .'\s it happeHs he's pretty serinus. When I meet Baenn
in his l.ntidnn hntel suite nti a sutm_\ \sinter
mnt‘ning. there's nn eheerl‘ul helln. nn httllshit hanter just a weak handshake attd a hall- nndded ‘he_\ ‘. He seems like he's iii a l‘nttl tttnnd. 'l‘ut'ns nut he‘s just hummed ahnttt his prnmntinttal t'espnnsihilities l‘nr ltis latest lilm. T/lt’ lli)()(/.\'III(III. ‘l‘ll tell )‘Utt. hnnestl}. it‘s a hit iii a drag tn ha\ e In enme haek and talk ahnttt this.‘ he .sa_\s in his grull~ east enast drau l. '\\'hen
_\'nu‘\‘e titade a film like this it needs a Int nl‘
nurturing sn l‘\'e dnne a lnt nl‘ talking ahnttt it. and h) talking ahnttt it. _\nu gn haek intn it. \\ hieh is tint the mnst pleasant thing.‘
llis relttetanee has nnthittg tn dn \\ith the qualin til the lilm httt rather the dark. ineendiar}
‘COME ON - FOOTLOOSE WAS 1984. I HAVE DONE SOME OTHER MOVIES SINCE THEN'
material it plttttders. l)ireeted h} ltrst titttet \ienle Kassell. it easts llaenn as \Vallet. tt enmieted paednpltile llL‘\\l_\ parnled alter l3 _\ears inside. and l'nllnus his arduntts reitttegratinn itttn nnrntal stielt‘l}. llis assimilatinn starts \\ itlt a inh iii a lumhersat'd and a tentati\e relatinnship \sith a heatttilttl. lnttl tnntttlted L'n~\\nl'ket' tp|a_\ ed h_\ liaenn's \stle nl' l7 )L'AIH. K}ra Sedguieki. But it’s itnt lnttg helnre his seet‘et is ntlt and nld temptatinns enme tn the line
It‘s an unenmlnrtahle l'ilm tn \sateh thanks largel_\ tn llaenn's sensiti\e pnt‘tt‘tnal nl \Valter as a man despet‘ateh [l'_\ ing tn temper his tlllt‘;l\_\ enmpulsinns. Walter‘s \\ as ttnt. littenn tintes gluml}. a partieularl} gnnd headspaee tn neeup}. ‘:\s an aetnr )nu lnnk at a seript attd _\nu kind nl hreak it tlt)\\ll itt _\nttr head attd _\nu sa_\. "UK. this \till he kind nl‘ a ltm da}. this is gntina he a drag. this is tlte hig et‘_\ing da_\.’ Hut \\llll snmething like The llinu/x/HHII )nu haxe tn take that shame and that persnnal agnn} and _\nu'\e gnt tn stiek it iii )nttt‘ gut lnr exet‘} single seette. It‘s al\\a_\s gnt In he a part nl this gtl} ~s lil'e.‘
'l‘he l'ilnt is undnuhtedl} liaenn's t‘iskiest tn date. lle‘s en\ered similarl) iek} tet‘t'itnt'} helnre (see his ahusi\'e prisnn guard iii S/w/u'rs nr. lnr an nppnsite perspeeti\e. his anguished enp iti .llt'slir lt’it‘t'rl. httt \xith '/'/it' llitm/xmuii hes essentiall} asking audienees tn \ie\\ a eltild mnlester as a human heing. snmething ttinst penple \snuld prnhahl} rather tint dn. Was he e\ er enneerned that there might he snme puhlie tall—nut l‘t'nm his deeisinn tn dn the lilm'.’
‘.\'nt lift)!” a eareer standpnint.‘ he sa_\s. ‘I kind nl' leel l'\ e pla} ed a lnt nl had eharaeters sn l'm nnt tr_\ing tn keep in} image elean. l dnn't e\en knnxs what in} image is. aetuall}. But eertaml} the puhlie reaetinn \\ ill he interesting. This is the hnttest suhieet matter. the hnttest suhieet matter )tlll ean think nl‘. I mean. penple ha\e \ll‘tlllgel’ reaetinns ahnttt this than the} dn ahnut att_\thing. exeept perhaps .lesus ('hrist.‘
'l’rust Baenn tint tn pass tip a pan lnr fear (if a little enntrnxers}. In an unelassiliiahle eareer spanning «in-plus lilms nne thing that unites his di\'erse t'nles is an almnst enmpulsix'e need In pla} dillerent ehat‘aeters. ’l delinitely tnade a deeisinn earl} nn that l “as .ltlsl gning tn keep gning thrnugh hell nr high \satet‘f he nnds. "Aetng \ttasn‘t snmething l \xasjust tl’}lng. l was in it lnr the lnng haul attd I made a deeisinn tint tn pla} nne t_\ pe nl'gu}.~
l.nnk at the film that made him lamnus and _\'nu
. THE LIST 19