Born in Pennsylvania, Kevin Bacon, 60, found global fame in 1984, when he played the lead in Footloose. His subsequent work includes the films JFK, A Few Good Men, Apollo 13, and Mystic River. Since 2012, he has starred in ads for EE mobile. He is married to the actor Kyra Sedgwick, has two children and lives in New York.
What is your greatest fear?
What we’re doing to the planet.
What is your earliest memory?
I grew up in the centre of Philadelphia in a big family and I remember walking into a room and wanting to be seen. I am the youngest of six and I think that’s why acting was such a natural thing for me to do. (My next sibling, Kira, is eight years older: if you do the math, my parents weren’t planning another kid.)
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
My wife – for her intelligence, talent, ability to survive this business and be such a fantastic mother to our two kids. (Of course, I have to say that, because she’s sitting right here.)
What is your most treasured possession?
The thing I am most afraid of losing is my wedding ring. It’s not worth anything, but when I am with my band, one of my instruments is a hand drum and to play that, I take my ring off. Every night I have a bit of paranoia about whether it’s still going to be in my pocket when I finish the show.
What would your superpower be?
To be invisible. I played an invisible man once, in Hollow Man. It wouldn’t be about pranks, just stepping out of the fishbowl.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Harry Styles.
What is your favourite smell?
Pizza – there’s nothing like a simple New York slice from a little joint called Joe’s down in the West Village.
What is your favourite word?
Either love or peace. I’d give both equal importance.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Before I knew what being an actor was, I wanted to be one.
What do you owe your parents?
What my parents treasured most – and put the biggest emphasis on – was creative expression, much more so than school grades or athletics. They wanted you to create or make something, to put on a play, to sing a song.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Kyra Sedgwick. I don’t remember the first time we met, but she does. I was doing a play about the 60s called Album at the Cherry Lane Theatre in Greenwich Village [in 1980] and her mother had seen it and bought her a ticket for her birthday. She went to a matinee with her brother. Later, they saw me in a deli and her brother said, “Go up and talk to him.” So she said, “Hi, I thought you were good in that play.” Years later, we started a relationship when we were both in Lemon Sky.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
I had my dream dinner party last night with my children, my wife and some friends.
If you could go back in time, where would you go?
The old Wild West – I would join the Pony Express. It’s kind of ironic, because one thing I actually do know how to do is ride a horse – and that’s the one thing nobody has asked me to do in a movie.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who did what he could with what he had.
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