Kevin Bacon Turns 63 — Looking Back At A Rare Photo From His 2018 Family Reunion

Jul 08, 2021 by apost team

“Footloose” star, pop culture icon and folk musician Kevin Bacon turns 63 today. If you can believe it, Kevin got his start in show business more than four decades ago in the wild 1978 comedy “National Lampoon’s Animal House” at just 20 years old. But Kevin quickly moved beyond his fraternity pledge beginnings. Today, at 63 years old, the actor is known for his award-winning roles in a variety of prominent films, such as “Apollo 13,” “Mystic River” and “X-Men: First Class.”

Of course, there’s also the well-known trivia game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, which is premised on the idea that you can pick any Hollywood actor or actress, and they will be connected to Kevin by six degrees of separation at the most. The game is a testament to Kevin’s prolific career and his wide-ranging acting capabilities that have seen him in a variety of roles from comedies like “Beauty Shop” to slasher films like “Friday the 13th.”

The 63-year-old actor hasn’t retired yet either. In the past couple of years, he’s worked on award-winning shows like “I Love Dick,” and he most recently starred alongside Amanda Seyfried in the 2020 psychological horror film “You Should Have Left.”

That’s all on top of putting out a 2020 album with The Bacon Brothers, a music duo that features Kevin and his older brother, Michael Bacon. To celebrate Kevin’s accomplishments and his 63rd birthday, we’ll take a look at the illustrious actor’s childhood in Philadelphia, his success in the movie business and a nostalgic family photo from 2018.

Like many actors who make it in showbusiness, Kevin Bacon knew that he loved the spotlight from a young age, as Biography.com details. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Ruth Hilda Holmes, a social activist, and Edmund Bacon, an architect, Kevin enrolled in a performing arts school when he was a young boy. It didn’t take long for him to continue his acting education at Manning Street Actor's Theatre in Philadelphia and New York City’s Circle in the Square Theatre School.

But Kevin’s dedication didn’t lead to instant fame or fortune. Instead, the actor flew under the radar, starring in “National Lampoon’s Animal House” for his debut performance, along with “Friday the 13th” and “Only When I Laugh” in the early 1980s. It wasn’t until “Diner,” a so-called bromantic comedy, that his career began to take off. The influential New Yorker critic Pauline Kael said that the film “features some of the best young actors in the country,” which was no doubt a reference to Kevin, at least in part. 

Following “Diner’s” success, Kevin scored his career-defining role in “Footloose.” Although the film received mixed reviews from critics, it quickly became an ‘80s classic, even inspiring a remake in 2011. From then on, Kevin had no problem securing some of Hollywood’s most highly coveted roles in movies like “A Few Good Men” and “Apollo 13.”

Lately, however, Kevin has also made a work in the world of TV, an industry that the actor was previously reluctant to enter.  

“Before, my managers knew never to mention a TV series to me, because they knew how furious that would make me,” Kevin told The Guardian in 2017. 

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“I’d look at it like a vote of no confidence in my movie career, that I was going to be sent off to the television graveyard,” he continued. “But at a certain point I looked at the stuff I was consuming – ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘The Wire’ – and I realised the writers went to TV because they’d been screwed by the movies. It was still a difficult moment for me. I mean, my hand was shaking. Then they sent me three scripts, and they were three of the best scripts I’d seen in years. I was like, ‘Schmuck, you could’ve jumped on this years ago!’” 

At the time of The Guardian interview, Kevin was acting in the Amazon Prime series “I Love Dick,” which is based on American writer Chris Kraus’ novel of the same name. Although the series ended in May 2017, it was a wide success. The Golden Globes even nominated Kevin for his role on the show. 

Kevin has continued his success on TV with his lead role in the crime drama “City on a Hill,” which was renewed for its third season in June 2021.

When he’s not acting, these days Kevin lives on a rural farm in Connecticut, where he takes care of goats with his wife, Kyra Sedgwick. Thanks to his goats, the 63-year-old actor has even become somewhat of an internet celebrity among Gen Z on TikTok.

Kevin also made a splash on social media back in 2018 when he shared a rare family photo on Bacon Day (the food) as a joke. The photo, along with his more recent TikTok videos, just goes to show that Kevin seems to be enjoying himself, even as he enters his so-called twilight years.

Happy Birthday, Kevin Bacon! What’s your favorite Kevin Bacon movie? Let us know! And pass this along to your friends and family members, and ask them to wish Kevin a happy birthday.