Kevin Bacon says he rejected a role in the 2011 remake of his movie classic Footloose because the role he was offered was “lousy”.
Bacon shot to fame after playing Ren McCormack in the 1984 original, which saw him play a Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing and rock music have been banned by a local minister. The film also stars Christopher Penn, Dianne Wiest and Sarah Jessica Parker.
The actor says he was excited when he was asked if he wanted a part in the recent remake directed by Craig Brewer. But Bacon, who recently starred in X-Men: First Class, Crazy, Stupid Love and TV series The Following, was not impressed with the scene he had been cast in and decided to turn down the part.
Speaking at the Follow This event at New York’s Paley Center for Media on Tuesday (June 4), he said: “It was a lousy part. I was McCormack’s father, which I don’t mind, but he was just a miserable prick. I honestly think I would have done a disservice to the film… there was no point to me being in the movie…”
He added: “They built a scene that was really only there for me to be in the movie, and once I said no, they took the scene out… I liked the movie, though.” The 2011 film featured Kenny Wormald in the role made famous by Bacon, while Julianne Hough played his love interest Ariel, a role played in the original by Lori Singer.