The Hilarious Way Kevin Bacon Found Out He Was Mentioned In Guardians Of The Galaxy - Exclusive
Kevin Bacon is officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe via his role in "X-Men: First Class," in which he plays antagonist Sebastian Shaw. But he arguably has a more amusing connection to the MCU in the form of being name-dropped in the original "Guardians of the Galaxy" film.
In that blockbuster Marvel movie, Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), is a music-loving dance machine — and a self-confessed fan of Bacon and the 1984 film "Footloose," which is one of Bacon's most iconic roles. When Peter tries to get love interest and fellow Guardian Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) to dance with him, she refuses, prompting Peter to say: "On my planet, we have a legend about people like you. It's called 'Footloose.' And in it, a great hero named Kevin Bacon teaches an entire city full of people with sticks up their butts that dancing is the greatest thing there is."
When Looper sat down with Bacon for an exclusive interview — in which he discussed his latest film, the LGBTQ-focused slasher flick "They/Them" that's now streaming on Peacock — the veteran actor revealed the hilarious way he found out that he was mentioned in "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Bacon had an 'out-of-body' experience the first time he saw Guardians
When asked about the memorable mention in "Guardians of the Galaxy," Kevin Bacon seemed genuinely tickled by the idea, calling it "so great." He has an equally great story to tell about the first time he watched the film.
"What was so funny about that was that I didn't know about it when I went to the movie," said Bacon. "I was a fan of James Gunn, and had worked with James in the last movie that he did before the first 'Guardians,' which was called 'Super,' a tiny little budget movie with Rainn Wilson as the lead. I was like, 'Let me go see what James is up to here,' and I went to the 'Guardians.'"
But that's not where the story ends. "I was all alone in the movie theater on a Tuesday afternoon or something like that, and I'm sitting there and all of a sudden [Chris Pratt] starts talking about me," said Bacon. "He starts mentioning me, and I'm looking around like, 'Whoa, is anybody getting this? This is so weird.' It was a very out-of-body experience. I walked out of the theater and called my wife and I was like, 'Honey, you're not going to believe this. The weirdest thing just happened.' It's cool. What can I say? It's awesome."
Proving just how "awesome" he really thinks it is, Bacon is rumored to be making an in-the-flesh cameo appearance in the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," which is set for release in 2023.
Bacon's latest film, "They/Them," is now streaming exclusively on Peacock.