Kevin Bacon went undercover as a high school student to prepare for ‘Footloose’.
The actor was 23 when he landed the role of 17-year-old Ren McCormack, a Chicago teenager who moves to a small town, and he was so worried about pulling off a realistic performance in the 1984 movie that he went back to high school.
Kevin, 58, told Variety’s ‘Actors on Actors’: "I went and had that same experience for a day. The only people that knew that I was an actor was the principal and maybe the guidance counselor. The teachers didn’t know. The students didn’t know.
"It was terrifying. I got a real insight into literally how to play this part. It was exactly like the movie because some kids gave me a hard time, made fun of me, made fun of my hair, made fun of my clothing. I was dressed and looked like the character. Some of girls giggled and formed little groups and would whisper about me."
Meanwhile, Kevin previously revealed he almost didn’t get the role in ‘Footloose’ because the head of the studio didn’t think he was sexy enough.
He said: "I think this qualifies as sexist.
"I’ll let women decide that because I think that’s something that women understand a lot better than men do, let’s face it. I was up for a little film called ‘Footloose’. The head of the studio was a woman. And the director and the producer wanted me for the part and she said, ‘I don’t want him. He’s not f**kable’.
"What can I tell you? I wasn’t her taste."
Kevin Bacon went undercover at a high school for Footloose
