Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American actor, director, producer and musician. Bacon shot to fame with his portrayal of teen rebel, Ren McCormack in Footloose (1984). He has been almost ubiquitous in movies ever since with a slew of notable movies that include the controversial conspiracy legal thriller JFK (1991), the legal drama A Few Good Men (1992), the dramatic space adventure Apollo 13 (1995), and the mystery drama Mystic River (2003). He is particularly known for portraying roles with grey shades such as that of a sadistic guard in Sleepers (1996) and troubled former child abuser in a critically acclaimed performance in The Woodsman (2004). Bacon has also acted in television shows like Guiding Light (1952–2009) and the Fox hit TV series The Following (2013-2015).
Bacon has been nominated and won several awards over the years of which the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award wins for best actor, take special precedence.
Early Life
The youngest of six, Kevin Norwood Bacon was born in Philadelphia on 8th July 1958, to Ruth Hilda Holmes, a teacher and social activist, and Edmund Bacon, a well-known Philadelphian planner and architect who would go on to grace the cover of the Time magazine in 1964.
Sixteen-year-old Bacon realised that he was meant to be an actor when he won a scholarship to attend the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts at Bucknell University. He honed his acting skills at the Manning Street Actor's Theatre in Philadelphia and the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City's Greenwich Village.
Personal Life
Bacon was in a relationship with actress, Tracy Pollan. She is popular for her role in the television series, Family Ties (1982–1989). They were together for about half a decade.
Kevin met his wife Kyra Sedgwick when both of them were cast in the PBS version of Lanford Wilson's play Lemon Sky. The late eighties being a testing phase both professionally and personally, Bacon has said: "The time I was hitting what I considered to be bottom was also the time I met my wife, our kids were born, good things were happening. And I was able to keep supporting myself; that always gave me strength”.Blessed with two children, Travis Sedgwick (b. 1989) and Sosie Ruth (b. 1992), the family resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Bacon has publicly said that he “doesn’t believe in God.” However, he has also made it clear that he is not “anti-religion.” Instead, he has actively pushed for a greater separation between church and State in America. His band, ‘The Bacon Brothers,’ which he formed with his older brother, Michael Bacon, have performed at events like ‘First Freedom First’ which specifically advocate the separation of church and state.Bacon and Sedgwick have starred together in Pyrates (1991), Murder in the First (1995), The Woodsman (2004), and Loverboy (2005). They have also appeared in will.i.am's video "It's a New Day". Bacon is a self-confessed Democrat and that explains the release of the "It's a New Day" video following Barack Obama's 2008 presidential win.
Sedgwick and Bacon were among the victims of the notorious Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, where they lost part of their savings.
Television Career
Bacon featured in bit roles in television soap operas Search for Tomorrow (1979) and Guiding Light (1980–81). On the HBO comedy TV series Bored to Death (2009–2011), Bacon made an appearance as himself on one of the episodes. He also had a guest role on the animated TV show Robot Chicken (2005– ). He reprised his role as Ren McCormack, his character from the Footloose movie.
In the FOX Tv show The Following (2013–2015), Bacon played the role of former FBI agent Ryan Hardy. James Purefoy played the antagonist, a serial killer who has secretly raised a cult of like-minded killers. The show ran for three seasons.
Movie Career
Bacon debuted on film in a forgettable role as ‘Chip’ in the fraternity comedy National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). All though the movie was a critical and commercial hit, Bacon’s role only got a little traction. His breakthrough came as the rich kid who had a drinking problem in Barry Levinson's Diner (1982), with Steve Guttenberg, Daniel Stern, and Mickey Rourke. Two years later Footloose (1984) catapulted Bacon into mainstream Hollywood. He played the role of the city kid who is stuck in a small-town high school where a tragedy prevents people from dancing. The later half of the 80’s saw him act in the John Hughes’ movie She's Having a Baby (1988) and Christopher Guest’s The Big Picture (1989).
The early 90’s saw Bacon act in commercially successful movies like Flatliners (1990) and Tremors (1990). He followed it up with the critically acclaimed movies JFK (1991) and A Few Good Men (1992). In 1994 Bacon played a negative character in the action-adventure The River Wild (1994). The movie was a commercial success. He was seen again in the courtroom thriller Murder in the First (1995). In 1995 he co-starred with Tom Hanks in the critical and commercial success Apollo 13 (1995). His other prominent movies during the later half of the 90’s include Balto (1995), Sleepers (1996), Telling Lies in America (1997), Wild Things (1998) and Stir of Echoes (1999).
In 2000 Bacon starred as the antagonist in Paul Verhoeven’s Hollow Man (2000). The movie was critically panned but was a worldwide commercial hit. His next acting turn he starred alongside Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Laurence Fishburne in the multiple Oscar-winning crime drama Mystic River (2003). The Woodsman (2004) had him play a child molester and was critically appreciated. His other well-received movies include Frost/Nixon (2008), My One and Only (2009), Super (2010), X-Men: First Class (2011), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) and Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012). He revived his career again as a solo actor in Cop Car (2015). The critically acclaimed movie had him play the antagonist again as a corrupt sheriff. In Scott Cooper’s biographical crime-drama, Black Mass (2015) Bacon joined Johnny Depp in the lead. Depp played the organised crime boss James 'Whitey' Bulger, while Bacon co-starred as FBI Agent Charles McGuire. In 2017 Bacon starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in the movie Patriots Day (2016) based on the Boston Marathon bombing incident. The movie which also had Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons and John Goodman opened to rave reviews.
Stage Career
Bacon was involved with theatre during his early years. He was 17 when he began his stage career in Getting Out, which was performed at New York's Phoenix Theater, and Flux, at Second Stage Theatre during their 1981–1982 season.
In 1982, he won an Obie Award for his role as a drug-addicted male prostitute in the off-Broadway play Forty Deuce, following which he made his Broadway debut in Slab Boys, with then-unknowns Sean Penn and Val Kilmer.
Singing Career
Kevin Bacon and his elder brother formed a band called The Bacon Brothers in 1995. They have released six albums together. Some of their songs were used in movies that Kevin Bacon has starred in or produced.