Kevin Bacon’s wife cast him in her movie to generate money for the project.
Kyra Sedgwick has made her directorial debut with Lifetime TV film ‘Story of a Girl’ and though she is delighted with her spouse’s portrayal of gay diner owner Michael, she admitted she had more practical reasons for getting him on board with the project.
She said: "I always wanted Kevin to be in it to play Michael. I just thought it was a great role for him and the truth is, when we were trying to make it as an independent feature, we were trying to raise money and I asked him if he would be interested in playing that role — not because I thought he would be brilliant, but frankly because he would get the movie made.
"He loved the part. He said he thought it was the best part in the movie. It’s a special, excellent part — he’s never played a role quite like that before."
The couple’s daughter Sosie Bacon also appears in the movie – which follows teenager Deanna (Ryann Shane) after a sex tape goes viral in her quiet home town – as the young woman’s brother’s girlfriend, and Kyra joked she was "grateful" the 25-year-old actress was able to spare the time to shoot the film after co-producer Emily Bickford Lansbury suggested her for the part.
Kyra told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "I hadn’t thought of it, but she was absolutely amazing and she squeezed me in between ’13 Reasons Why’ and the new HBO Alan Ball show. I was grateful to have her. It’s the least she could do for her mother!"
The 51-year-old actress-and-producer admitted Kevin, 59, urged her to make the move into directing, and now she’s finally taken the plunge, she’s "got the bug" and cant’ wait to get behind the camera again.
She said: "When I got the opportunity to possibly make the movie — my husband [Kevin Bacon] had been really riding me about directing — this was the first time where I went, ‘If I am going to try something, it’s going to be this.’ Now that I’ve tried it, I’ve got the bug and I can’t wait to find my next directing gig.
"When I got to working on the film, it was something I had been preparing for as an actor. It’s just having more control over the storytelling."
Kyra Sedgwick cast Kevin Bacon for finance
