Kevin Bacon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kevin Bacon
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Bacon in 2022
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Kevin Norwood Bacon
July 8, 1958 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1977–present |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2, including Sosie Bacon |
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Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. He is famous for playing both main characters and supporting roles in many movies. Kevin Bacon has won several awards, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Bacon first appeared in the movie National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). His big break came in the musical film Footloose (1984). After that, he starred in popular films like JFK (1991), Apollo 13 (1995), and Mystic River (2003). Other well-known movies include Friday the 13th (1980), Tremors (1990), and X-Men: First Class (2011). He has also directed two films: Losing Chase (1996) and Loverboy (2005).
On television, Kevin Bacon won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in the HBO film Taking Chance (2009). He also starred in the TV series The Following from 2013 to 2015. From 2019 to 2022, he was in the show City on a Hill.
In 2003, Kevin Bacon received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His long career has made him famous for the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". He is married to actress Kyra Sedgwick.
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Early Life and Education
Kevin Bacon was born in Philadelphia. He was the youngest of six children. His mother, Ruth Hilda, was a teacher. His father, Edmund Bacon, was a city planner.
Kevin went to Julia R. Masterman High School. When he was 16, in 1975, he won a scholarship. This allowed him to study theater at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts. This experience made him even more passionate about acting.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in Acting
At age 17, Kevin Bacon moved to New York City to become an actor. He appeared in a play at the Circle in the Square Theater School. He later said he wanted "the real thing" from life.
His first movie was National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). But this film did not make him famous right away. He went back to waiting tables and auditioning for small theater roles. He also worked on TV soap operas like Search for Tomorrow and Guiding Light.
In 1980, he was in the horror film Friday the 13th.
Breakthrough Roles
In 1982, Kevin Bacon won an Obie Award for his role in a play called Forty Deuce. Soon after, he made his first appearance on Broadway in Slab Boys. He starred alongside future famous actors Sean Penn and Val Kilmer.
That same year, he made a strong impression in the film Diner. This movie also featured Steve Guttenberg and Mickey Rourke.
His performance in Diner helped him get the lead role in Footloose (1984). To get ready for the part, Bacon pretended to be a transfer student at a high school. He studied how teenagers acted. Footloose was a big success and earned him great reviews.
After Footloose, Bacon found it hard to get different types of roles. He was often offered similar characters. For a few years, he felt his career was not going well.
Becoming a Character Actor
By 1991, Kevin Bacon decided to change his career path. He stopped trying to be the main star in big movies. Instead, he chose to become a character actor. This meant he would play interesting supporting roles. He explained that this was the only way to work on "A" projects with top directors.
In 1994, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in The River Wild. He starred opposite Meryl Streep in this film. He called the filming a "grueling shoot" because it was so tough.
His next movie, Murder in the First, won him an award in 1995. That same year, he was in the huge hit movie Apollo 13. Bacon played a serious role in Sleepers (1996). This was very different from his part in the romantic comedy Picture Perfect (1997).
Bacon also started directing films. His first directing job was the TV movie Losing Chase (1996). This film was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and won one.
2000s and Beyond
In 2000, he appeared in Hollow Man. In 2003, he acted with Sean Penn and Tim Robbins in Clint Eastwood's movie Mystic River.
In 2009, he starred in the HBO Films movie Taking Chance. This film was based on a true story about a soldier. Bacon won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance.
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In 2010, it was announced that Bacon would play the villain Sebastian Shaw in X-Men: First Class.
From 2013 to 2015, Bacon starred as Ryan Hardy in the FOX TV series The Following. He won a Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television for this role in 2013.
Other Ventures
In 1995, Kevin Bacon formed a band with his brother, Michael. They called themselves The Bacon Brothers. The band has released seven albums. Kevin also sings in other ways, like on his Instagram and with the band the Old 97's.
Since 2012, Kevin Bacon has appeared in many commercials for the British mobile company EE. These ads often use the "Six Degrees" idea and his movie roles.
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon is famous for a trivia game called "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". The game is based on the idea that any actor in Hollywood can be connected to Kevin Bacon in just a few steps. This is because he has been in so many movies across different types of genres. The game's name comes from the idea of six degrees of separation, which suggests everyone in the world is connected by six steps.
At first, Kevin Bacon was not happy about the game. But then he embraced it. He even started a charity called SixDegrees.org. This group connects people and charities to help others.
You can find an actor's "Bacon number" online. This number shows how many steps away they are from Kevin Bacon. For example, if an actor was in a movie with Kevin Bacon, their Bacon number is 1.
Personal Life
Kevin Bacon has been married to actress Kyra Sedgwick since September 4, 1988. They met while working on a play together. He has said that meeting his wife and having children helped him during tough times in his career.
Bacon and Sedgwick have starred in several movies together. These include Murder in the First and The Woodsman. They have two children, Travis and Sosie Ruth. The family lives in Manhattan.
In 2011, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick appeared on a TV show called Finding Your Roots. On the show, they learned that they are actually distant cousins!
Awards and Honors
Kevin Bacon has received many awards and honors throughout his career.
Major Awards
- Golden Globe Award: Won for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film for Taking Chance (2010).
- Screen Actors Guild Award: Won for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Apollo 13 (1996).
- Screen Actors Guild Award: Won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries for Taking Chance (2010).
- Critics' Choice Movie Award: Won for Best Actor for Murder in the First (1996).
- Saturn Award: Won for Best Actor on Television for The Following (2013).
- Blockbuster Entertainment Award: Won for Favorite Actor – Science Fiction for Hollow Man (2001).
- Obie Award: Won for his role in the play Forty Deuce (1982).
Other Honors
- Hollywood Walk of Fame: Received a star on September 30, 2003, for his work in movies.
- John Cassavetes Award: Received in 2004 at the Denver International Film Festival.
- Joel Siegel Award: Honored with this award in 2010 by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
- Career Achievement in Acting Award: Received in 2015 at the Seattle International Film Festival.
See also
In Spanish: Kevin Bacon para niños
- List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars
