Kevin Bacon

KEVIN BACON has a talent for balancing starring roles with powerful supporting characters on both film and stage, allowing him to build a varied and critically acclaimed body of work. His proven talents can be seen in a wide range of film genres, from action thrillers to romantic comedies to heavy dramas, and even the occasional musical.

Just some of Bacon's film credits include John Hughes' "She's Having a Baby"; "The Big Picture"; "Tremors"; "Flatliners"; Oliver Stone's "JFK"; Rob Reiner's "A Few Good Men"; "The River Wild," for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role; "Murder in the First," for which he was named Best Actor by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, and received Best Supporting Actor nominations from the Screen Actors Guild® and the London Film Critics Circle; Ron Howard's award-winning "Apollo 13" and "Frost/Nixon"; Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River"; "Balto"; Barry Levinson's "Sleepers," with Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro; "Picture Perfect," with Jennifer Aniston; "Telling Lies in America"; "Wild Things"; David Koepp's "Stir of Echoes"; the sleeper hit "My Dog Skip"; "Hollow Man"; "Trapped," with Charlize Theron; "Beauty Shop"; Atom Egoyan's "Where the Truth Lies"; "The Air I Breathe"; "Death Sentence"; "Rails & Ties"; and "My One and Only," with Renée Zellweger. In 2004, Bacon starred in "The Woodsman," a compelling drama that premiered to great critical acclaim at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, and for which Bacon received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Male Lead.

Bacon has appeared in many interesting big-screen projects, including writer/director James Gunn's "Super," with Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page, and Matthew Vaughn's worldwide hit "X-Men: First Class," in which Bacon plays the villainous Sebastian Shaw.

On the small screen, Bacon starred in HBO's telepic "Taking Chance," a compelling film based on a true story, from first-time director Ross Katz. The film was also selected to screen in-competition at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. For his work in "Taking Chance," Bacon was awarded the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild® awards for Best Actor in a mini-series or made-for-TV movie. Bacon was seen on HBO in a one-episode appearance on the series "Bored To Death," in which he played a hilariously exaggerated version of himself.

Bacon's other television credits include the American Playhouse version of Lanford Wilson's play "Lemon Sky," a production that teamed him with his then future wife, Kyra Sedgwick. His additional credits include "The Gift" and the cable film "Enormous Changes at the Last Minute."

In 1996, Bacon made his directorial debut with "Losing Chase," starring Kyra Sedgwick, Beau Bridges and Helen Mirren. Produced for Showtime, the TV movie was honored with three Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture Made for Television, and Mirren won the Golden Globe for her performance. The film debuted on Showtime and was also screened at the Sundance Film Festival and the 1996 Toronto Film Festival. In 2005, Bacon directed his second film, "Loverboy," his first for the big screen, which he also produced and appeared in. Based on the acclaimed novel by Victoria Redel, the film starred Kyra Sedgwick and featured appearances by Campbell Scott, Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei and Oliver Platt. "Loverboy" had the honor of opening the Gen Art Film Festival in New York City. Bacon's work as a director has been on several episodes of Sedgwick's hit TNT show "The Closer."

In addition to his film and television credits, Bacon's stage work includes such off-Broadway productions as "Album," "Poor Little Lambs" and "Getting Out." He made his Broadway debut in 1983 with Sean Penn in "Slab Boys," and starred in the 1986 production of Joe Orton's highly touted play "Loot." He also starred in Theresa Rebeck's comedy "Spike Heels," and in 2002, he starred on Broadway in the one-man show "An Almost Holy Picture," written by Heather McDonald.

It was actually Bacon's early interest in theater that led to his film career; with the support of his parents, he left his native Philadelphia to become the youngest student at Circle in the Square Theatre in New York, where he studied until he made his film debut as Chip in "National Lampoon's Animal House." This led to his roles in "Diner" and "Footloose," the latter of which propelled him to stardom.

With his musician brother Michael, Bacon is the other half of The Bacon Brothers, a successful band with a sound that he describes as "Forosoco," a combination of folk, rock, soul and country—and the title of their first album. Already highly regarded and hugely successful on the national club circuit, they have recorded six CDs and a concert DVD.

At the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, Bacon launched SixDegrees.org, a website that builds on the popularity of the "small world phenomenon" surrounding his name, to create a charitable social network and inspire giving to charities online. He started the network with celebrities by highlighting their favorite charities, and he encourages everyone to be celebrities for their own causes by joining the Six Degrees movement. To date, the site has succeeded in raising over three-and-a-half million dollars for charities around the world.

In 2010, Bacon received the Joel Siegel Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association in recognition of his outstanding film career and his charitable work with SixDegrees.org. In 2000, the Film Society of Lincoln Center honored Bacon for his extraordinary career in the film industry.

©2011 Warner Bros. Pictures