American actor Kevin Bacon is a renowned actor who has appeared in some incredible films throughout his career. One of his most iconic roles is in the 1984 film Footloose. The film gave a meteoric rise to his career, and since then he has been a part of many iconic films. However, surprisingly, Bacon revealed during an interview that he wasn’t content with his role in the film, as he had some other expectations in his career.
Despite not being very comfortable with his role in the first place, Bacon undeniably excelled in the role and today it’s indeed difficult to imagine anyone else playing his role in Footloose. Interestingly, the filmmakers did imagine someone else in Bacon’s place as he wasn’t the first choice for the role.
Kevin Bacon wasn’t content with his breakthrough role
Kevin Bacon is a big name in the film industry who certainly needs no introduction. Recently, during an episode of Podcrushed, the actor opened up about his breakthrough film Footloose. During the conversation with the hosts of the show, Bacon discussed that his role in Footloose was certainly different from his career expectations.
He shared that during the initial period of his career, he envisioned himself as a serious actor but his breakthrough role didn’t align with his expectations. In the 1984 film, Bacon portrayed the role of a teenage boy named Ren McCormack., who has a passion for dancing. Recalling his role in Footloose, the actor said,
“When I became a pop star, the last thing I wanted to be was a pop star, I had already moved into, you know, ‘I want to be Dustin Hoffman or Meryl [Streep] or John Cazale or [Robert] De Niro. I want to work with [Martin] Scorsese. I want to do Chekhov.’ You know what I mean?”
Further, the actor revealed that he was so obsessed with the notion of portraying a serious character, that he rejected Footloose. However, the actor ultimately took up the role and excelled in it like no other.
Indeed, looking back at Bacon’s performance as Ren McCormack, it can be said that the actor did a remarkable job and his performance was so good that it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the role. However, this wasn’t the case with the filmmakers of Footloose, as before considering Bacon for the role, the first name that came to their mind was of legendary actor Tom Cruise.
Why did Tom Cruise turn down an iconic role?
Undeniably, Kevin Bacon gave a remarkable performance in Footloose, but surprisingly, he wasn’t the first choice for the role he played. According to Pop Sugar, Tom Cruise was considered for the role of Ren McCormack, but he turned it down.
Considering Cruise’s charming look, he must have been a great choice, but due to scheduling conflicts, the actor couldn’t take up the role. At that time, Cruise was busy filming All the Right Moves. Eventually, the role landed on Bacon, making him a cult icon.
Footloose is available for streaming on Max.
Source: Podcrushed
