Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon[2] (born July 8, 1958)[3] is an American actor. Known for his leading man and character roles, Bacon has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award.
For other uses, see Kevin Bacon (disambiguation).
Kevin Bacon
Bacon made his feature film debut in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) before his breakthrough role in the musical-drama film Footloose (1984). Since then, he has starred in critically acclaimed films such as Diner (1982), JFK (1991), A Few Good Men (1992), Apollo 13 (1995), Mystic River (2003), and Frost/Nixon (2008). Other notable credits include Friday the 13th (1980), Tremors (1990), The River Wild (1994), The Woodsman (2004), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Patriots Day (2016). Bacon has also directed the films Losing Chase (1996) and Loverboy (2005).
On television, Bacon received a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role as Lt. Col. Michael Strobl in the HBO original film Taking Chance (2009). He starred in the Fox drama series The Following from 2013 to 2015. Bacon played the title role in Amazon Prime Video series I Love Dick from 2016 to 2017; he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his work on the show. From 2019 to 2022, he starred in the Showtime series City on a Hill.[4]
The Guardian named Bacon one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination.[5] In 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[6]
Bacon's prolific career in a variety of genres has led him to become associated with the concept of interconnectedness among people, as evidenced by the trivia game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". He is a brand ambassador for British mobile network operator EE and has been featured in several ads for the company.[7] Bacon is married to actress Kyra Sedgwick.
Early life and education
Bacon was born and raised in a close-knit family in Philadelphia.[3] He is the youngest of six children. His mother, Ruth Hilda (née Holmes; 1916–1991), taught at an elementary school and was a liberal activist,[3] while his father, Edmund Bacon (1910–2005), was an urban planner who served as executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and authored the seminal text Design of Cities.[8]
Bacon attended Julia R. Masterman School in the Spring Garden section of Philadelphia for both middle and high school.[9]
At age 16, in 1975, Bacon won a full state-funded scholarship to the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania,[10] a five-week arts program where he studied theater under Glory Van Scott. The experience solidified Bacon's passion for the arts.[11][8]
Other ventures
In 1995, Kevin formed a band called The Bacon Brothers with his brother, Michael. The duo has released seven albums.[44] Bacon also sings in a variety of other media; he has serenaded his goats on Instagram,[45] and sings with the band the Old 97's in his role as himself in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.[46]
Beginning in 2012, Bacon has appeared in a major advertising campaign for EE in the United Kingdom, based on the Six Degrees concept and his various film roles.[47][48] In 2015, he became a commercial spokesperson for the U.S. egg industry.[49]
Personal life
Bacon has been married to actress Kyra Sedgwick since September 4, 1988; they met on the set of the PBS version of Lanford Wilson's play Lemon Sky. He has said: "The time I was hitting what I considered to be bottom was also the time I met my wife, our kids were born, good things were happening. And I was able to keep supporting myself; that always gave me strength."[12] Bacon and Sedgwick have starred together in Pyrates, Murder in the First, The Woodsman, and Loverboy. They have two children, Travis Sedgwick (b. 1989) and Sosie Ruth (b. 1992). They reside on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.[53] Bacon was previously in a five-year relationship with actress Tracy Pollan, in the 1980s.[54]
Bacon has spoken out for the separation of church and state,[55][56] and told The Times in 2005 that he did not "believe in God."[57] He has also said that he is not anti-religion.[58]
Bacon and Sedgwick appeared in will.i.am's video "It's a New Day", which was released following Barack Obama's 2008 presidential win.
The pair lost part of their savings in the Ponzi scheme of infamous swindler Bernie Madoff.[59][60]
Bacon and Sedgwick learned in 2011, via their appearance on the PBS TV series Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, that they are ninth cousins, once removed.[61] They also appeared in a video[62] promoting the "Bill of Reproductive Rights", supporting among other things a woman's right to choose and have access to birth control.[63]