#177 Kevin Bacon Explains How to Succeed at Any Role, in Any Situation | Impact Theory

The legendary actor Kevin Bacon is one of those rare individuals whose fame seems to have transcended his own name or image. It’s as if he has entered the ether as a meme: “Six Degrees of…” On this episode of Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu, Kevin Bacon discusses the need for connection that underlies the “Six Degrees” meme, and shares the story of a successful career that was built on connection and long-lasting relationships. He also talks about realizing that his strength is in being a character actor, not necessarily a leading man, and describes his process for inhabiting the roles he plays so well.

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SHOW NOTES:

Kevin is quite thankful that he is able to live a very privileged lifestyle [2:16]

Kevin describes life on the road as an actor [5:26]

Absence really can make the heart grow fonder [8:37]

Kevin is completely fine with not being a lead character in a movie [11:45]

Kevin talks about playing a character that is fairly similar to him [14:43]

Marriage is something we put on a pedestal but statistically, it doesn’t usually work [18:06]

Kevin advocates that playing together helps his marriage more than the work they put in [22:09]

Kevin was so hungry to be famous, but he is actually ambivalent about being famous [27:06]

Kevin felt strongly connected to other actors in theater, but not in movies [30:29]

Kevin describes the sense of family in independent films and in theater [35:40]

Kevin discusses the protocol for returning to work during the pandemic [41:47]

Kevin advocates creating your own material even if you aren’t a budding producer [45:04]

Kevin gets asked to play roles that are all over the map [47:47]

Kevin describes his process for inhabiting a role [50:36]

Kevin and Tom discuss what it means to be a producer or a director [54:52]

QUOTES:

“My theory about the acting thing for me is to use yourself and lose yourself. Because every part that I go into, what else do I have to use but the experiences that I’ve had? But I want to lose myself in the role. I don’t want to feel like it’s Kevin.” [13:09]

“It’s really about that hunger that we have for connectivity, as a people, as a nation, as a global entity.” [30:10]

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