Not ‘f***able’: Kevin Bacon tells Tribeca Film Fest how he nearly missed out on iconic ‘Footloose’ role 40 years ago

Somehow, Kevin Bacon was not the studio’s first choice to land his iconic role in “Footloose.” 

Bacon revealed this weekend, during a 40th anniversary celebration of the cult classic at the Tribeca Film Festival, that the studio head at Paramount Pictures initially did not want him for the role because they thought he was not “f**kable.”

Bacon walked the red carpet inside of the BMCC theater at 199 Chambers St. four decades after he first showed off his dancing moves in the 1984 classic. Also starring Lori Singer, Chris Penn, and Sarah Jessica Parker, Footloose propelled Bacon into the limelight and took his fledgling career to new heights. 

In a conversation with moderator and Deputy Editor of GQ Michael Hainey immediately following the screening, Bacon admitted that he originally resented being so closely tied to the role, but has since come to adore it for the joy it brings others.

“It was so important to me to be considered a serious actor as opposed to a pop star, which is ironic since when I started out all I wanted to be was a pop star. When I packed my suitcase from Philly and came up to New York I wanted to be the Monkeys. Then I got into the New York theater world and my whole focus changed, then I wanted to be Meryl Streep,” Bacon said. “In retrospect, I could have embraced the movie a little bit more than I did.”

However, Bacon also revealed that he did not have an easy ride when signing up for the film and even faced some pushback. Then-studio head Dawn Steel, according to Bacon, allegedly told others on the project that she did not believe Bacon was attractive enough for the part.

“Yeah, that’s true. I don’t think it’s true that I’m not f***able, but it’s also true that she said that. She definitely said that,” Bacon revealed. “She said it to the director.”

Bacon had to do several additional screen tests, changing his haircut and outfit styles. But instead of his reel displaying his acting skills, instead it displayed a montage of dance moves wearing different outfits — which earned him a thumbs up from Steel. 

Fans also learned that the film’s ending changed before it was released in theaters, a decision Bacon believes secured success for Footloose.

Filming reshoots is not something an actor often wants to hear because it makes them feel that they didn’t do something right, and by the time they learn about the necessary changes they’ve already moved on to another part. 

“When I got the call that we needed to reshoot the ending of Footloose, I was like, ‘That’s terrible. That’s bad news, like that was based on the audience’s reactions,” Bacon admitted. “In the original cut it started out fast and then Herb, the director, had this idea that I would go to this beautiful kind of slow-motion kind of thing…It was very emotional. Laurie and I are spinning around, and the audience was just completely bummed out because they’ve been sitting in their chairs wanting for the entire movie and so a movie like this needed to see the kids dance.”

Originally the ending was set to be a slow, glittery affair. However, it ended with a full-out dancing showcase. Bacon added that the studio even hired professional local dancers to exhibit popular styles like breakdancing and popping for the reshoot. 

“That whole popping and breakdancing thing had sort of blown up in a way, so they added that. They added the possibility that it could be a kid that was doing that and spinning on his back and stuff like that. And that whole thing was new, and I can guarantee you that the money that they spent and the smarts to look at the audience’s reaction and say we need a new ending was definitely worth it,” Bacon said.