Kevin Bacon Marvels at Footloose’s Popularity, Says “It Was a Great Gift” to Be in the Movie

Kevin Bacon reflects fondly on his time filming the hit movie Footloose, nearly 40 years after he put on his dancing shoes for the role of Ren McCormack.

In an interview on Todaythe musical drama’s main man has also marveled at his longevity and how he’s been able to attract new fans over the past four decades.

‘I love it. I think it’s great,” he told co-host Willie Geist, adding, “It’s like all those things you think ‘Oh my God, is that ever going to go away? ” At some point, you have to embrace the beast.

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Bacon, 64, went on to add that “it was a great gift to be part of this movie.” I certainly took it very seriously when I was doing it and I love that people still come around and say they just showed their kids.

The Philadelphia native also credited the film’s enduring popularity to the Broadway musical which premiered in 1998, and has since continued to have touring versions of the musical in the US and UK, while also also having a few runs in the West End of London.

“After the Broadway show ends, it then becomes available to be done at every high school,” he explained. “And there aren’t a lot of plays, certainly musicals, where you can have a musical and a band of high school kids in it.”

Gracious: In an interview with Today, Bacon marveled at the film’s longevity and how it’s been able to attract new fans over the past four decades.

Main couple: Bacon, who was 25 when he shot Footloose, starred as Ren McCormack alongside Lori Singer, who played Ariel Moore

The film’s popularity can also be attributed to the music, which included the title track, Footloose by Kenny Loggins and Let’s Hear It For The Boy, performed by Deniece Williams.

Just a few weeks ago, Bacon convinced his wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick, to take part in the “Footloose Drop” challenge that went viral on TikTok.

The trend, which is set on Loggins’ iconic song, has one partner holding the other horizontally grabbing one hand and one leg. Then the partner rolls the other down to the ground, catching them before they fall.

While confessing that he did not recall these moves being part of the original film, Bacon and Sedgwick went on to remove the fake drop from their video which was posted to his Instagram page; although she suffered a wrist injury.

Trending: Just weeks ago, Bacon convinced his wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick, to take part in the ‘Footloose Drop’ challenge that went viral on TikTok

Mission accomplished: Bacon and Sedgwick then pulled off the fake drop in their video which was posted on his Instagram page

Hyped: The couple, who have been married for almost 34 years, gave a high-five after successfully moving into the living room of their home

In the film, Bacon played a teenager who moves from big city Chicago to a small rural town in southeast Texas, where he attempts to overturn a ban on dancing instituted by the efforts of a local minister, played by John Lithgow.

Besides Bacon and Lithgow, the cast also included Lori Singer, Dianne Wiest, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Chris Penn, among others.

Directed by Herbert Ross from a script by Dean Pitchford, an Academy Award-winning lyricist who co-wrote the title track to the hit film Fame (1980), it grossed over $80 million at the box office in North America the budgeted at $8.2 million, despite getting mixed reviews from critics.

These box office receipts in the United States and Canada would eventually be good enough to be the seventh highest-grossing film of 1984.

Bonafide hit: Directed by Herbert Ross from a screenplay by Dean Pitchford, Footloose became the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1984, earning over $80 million in North America alone on an 8.2 budget millions of dollars.