Biography of Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon is an actor who has become a true Hollywood legend. During his career, he has played more than eighty roles in film and theater. He wasn’t rich. He did not have great connections and influential patrons. His only weapon was a mysterious smile and a huge acting talent. It was they who paved the way for him into the world of big cinema, making Kevin Bacon one of the most popular and sought-after actors of his generation.
The early years of Kevin Bacon
Almost nothing is known about the childhood and adolescence of the actor. His family was not particularly poor or, conversely, wealthy. The mother of the future actor was an ordinary school teacher, and his father was a well-known architect in certain circles in Philadelphia. The only noteworthy fact was the fact that in addition to the actor himself, there were five more children in the Norwood-Bacon family.
Kevin Bacon spent his childhood in a large family
The family lived together, and therefore Kevin’s decision to enter the local theater school was perceived with understanding. The first performance of the actor on the stage in Philadelphia happened in 1974. He was a real star of the small theater at Bucknell University. His talent was noted by teachers and critics. However, in Philadelphia, the actor soon became crowded. And at the age of 17, he moved to live in New York, with which almost his entire future career is connected.
Here he begins to perform professionally in the theater for the first time. But, looking ahead a little, we note that these roles will not bring him much fame. Bacon rents an apartment in one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York and lives the life typical of all aspiring actors.
Kevin Bacon’s first film roles
Despite the fact that Kevin has dreamed of playing in the theater all his life, it is not the theatrical stage that will bring him real fame, but film roles. The first picture with the participation of Bacon was the low-budget film “The Menagerie” by Indian director Satyajit Rai. It is noteworthy that this picture was filmed in Bengali, and the only words in English in it are spoken by Bacon, who got one of the minor roles.
Actor Kevin Bacon did not immediately become a Hollywood star
Despite the fact that it was quite difficult to note the talent of a young actor in just a few screen minutes, next year three films with the participation of young Kevin will be released at once. Two of the three films were a great success (the film “Starting Over” was even awarded two Oscars) and although Bacon played only small roles in all the tapes, it is difficult to overestimate such an experience of filming. Kevin’s filming partners were such famous American actors as Burt Reynolds, Charles Durning and Candice Bergen. Bacon got the opportunity to learn from them. And he was incredibly happy about it.
After that, the actor began to participate in numerous auditions and starred in many films. Every year, 2-3 films with his participation were released on the screens. In 1980, Kevin played along with Mickey Rourke in the film “Diner”. In 1986, the popular actress Jamie Gertz became his shooting partner. Kevin Bacon went from one role to another. And soon the young actor found real success.
Success and recognition of Kevin Bacon as an actor
At the age of 28, Bacon got the lead role in the crime detective The Broker. The film was a success in theaters, making young Kevin a popular and recognizable actor. After this, proposals for filming began to arrive with enviable constancy. In 1987, Bacon was noted in the film “White Water Summer”, in 1988 – in the detective drama “Criminal Law”. In both tapes, the actor was entrusted with the main roles.
In the late eighties, Bacon established himself as one of the stars of American cinema. The directors loved him. As, however, and many fans.
World fame came to the actor after the release of two real blockbusters of that time – the science fiction films Tremors and Flatliners. The pictures collected a rich box office in the world box office, and made Kevin Bacon popular on all continents.
He was a star, although it was still difficult to call him No. 1 actor. Kevin starred in many films, regularly adding to the list of his roles. Subsequently, such performance will become one of the hallmarks of the actor, and will form the basis of the game “Six Steps to Kevin Bacon”, which we will talk about a little later. A new surge in the popularity of the actor falls on the mid-nineties. During this period, already in the rank of an established celebrity, he starred in the box office films The Invisible Man, Echoes and Murder in the First Degree. No less remarkable are his later roles in the films Apollo 13, Mystic River and Where the Truth Lies.
Pictures with the participation of Bacon almost always received laudatory reviews from critics. However, Kevin received his first and only serious film awards only in 2009. Today, the actor has a Golden Globe and a US Screen Actors Guild award for his role in the television series Taking the Chance.
Personal life of Kevin Bacon
In 1988, on the set of the little-known Lemon Sky, Kevin met young actress Kyra Sedgwick. In the same year, the two lovers got married. This marriage seemed hasty, however, as is often the case, a strange and eccentric decision turned out to be the only right one. The two actors are parents of two children, as well as happy spouses. The marriage of Kira and Kevin has been going on for over twenty years.
Kevin Bacon: life outside of cinema
In the period from 1996 to 2005, the actor made several appearances in the world of cinema as a producer and director. His work was quite successful, but later Kevin still returned to the acting profession again and again.
His only passion besides cinema was music. In this context, it should be noted that the famous actor perfectly plays more than 12 instruments. Trying to realize himself in full, in 1995, together with his brother, Kevin created the group The Bacon Brothers, which successfully exists to this day.
Kevin Bacon is also interested in music in addition to cinema
To date, Bacon has participated in the recording of seven albums, and also starred in 80 films. His shooting partners over the years have been Julia Roberts, Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman, Kiefer Sutherland, Meryl Streep, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Firth, Tom Hanks and many, many others. A similar fact, connected with a large number of his acquaintances in the world of cinema, formed the basis of the game “Six Steps to Kevin Bacon”. Its essence lies in the fact that naming various American actors who starred together, it is necessary to reach Kevin Bacon in six “steps”. This game is based on the “Theory of Six Handshakes”, widely known today.
It is quite remarkable that only 12% of American actors have no connection with Bacon.
