Hollywood star Kevin Bacon has demonstrated his acting talent across a wide range of film genres, from comedic adventures to iconic classics such as Footloose. In addition to his success on the big screen, he has also delivered captivating performances on television, with memorable roles in series like The Following and City on a Hill. With that said, Kevin Bacon had an utterly horrible experience while filming Hollow Man.
However, the 65-year-old actor wasn’t always enthusiastic about TV roles. Bacon has openly discussed his initial reluctance to embrace television work, expressing concerns that transitioning from movies to television might not have aligned with his career aspirations in Hollywood.
Kevin Bacon Had A Nightmare Experience Filming Hollow Man
Filming Paul Verhoeven’s Hollow Man alongside Elisabeth Shue and Josh Brolin proved to be an arduous experience for actor Kevin Bacon, despite his limited on-screen presence. While speaking to Entertainment Weekley, Bacon recounts his initial optimism about the script, expecting most of his role to be done through voiceover. However, Verhoeven insisted on incorporating Bacon’s physical presence to provide the other actors with something tangible to interact with.
Bacon describes the challenges of working with motion control cameras and motion capture technology, where he essentially served as the “green screen” for the effects team. Covered head to toe in green makeup, including contact lenses and a green suit, Bacon found the process to be long and grueling.
“When I got the script I thought, this is going to be amazing, I mean most of this is in voiceover. But Paul Verhoeven felt very strongly that he wanted me to use my body and the outline of my body and then have my voice — rightly — interacting with the actors, so they had something to play with. Paul and the effects people were really experimenting with motion control cameras and motion control capture. Everyone’s familiar with the green screen — well I was the green screen, so I [was] often covered in green with giant green contact lenses that covered my eyes and green mouth and green make-up all over and a green suit. It was long and extremely hard to make. It was a tough one!“
Overall, the experience of filming Hollow Man was physically demanding and challenging, even though Bacon’s character is not visible on screen for the majority of the film.
Kevin Bacon Revealed His Initial Hesitations Towards TV Roles
Kevin Bacon had his breakthrough with the 1984 film Footloose, which remains one of the highlights of his career. In an appearance on The Corp podcast, he revealed that Footloose was the movie that ignited his passion for acting.
Despite the success of Footloose, Bacon initially hesitated to take on television roles due to the perceived divide between TV and film acting. He explained,
“I grew up in an era where you were either a TV actor or you were a movie actor and you didn’t do both.”
Bacon feared that accepting TV roles could be seen as a fallback option for actors whose film careers faltered.
To avoid TV roles, Bacon instructed his team not to bring him any TV scripts or projects. He admitted in an interview with The Guardian,
“Before, my managers knew never to mention a TV series to me, because they knew how furious that would make me.”
However, Bacon’s perspective on television eventually shifted as he recognized the quality of shows being produced for the small screen. Over time, he came to appreciate that television was capable of delivering content comparable to the finest films, leading to a change in his attitude toward television roles.
