April 4, 2024 • 45 mins
This is it! The final episode of the first season! It’s been an amazing ride. We have highlighted over 35 organizations changing the world for the better and shared the mic with some amazing celebrity guests that are doing their part to spread the world.
Today’s episode of Ask Kevin (Almost) Anything features Executive Director of SixDegrees.org Stacy Huston and Kevin talking about total eclipses (not of the heart), the legacy Kevin inherited from his mom and his real feelings on the game that started it all. Tune in for our final episode. We’re glad you’re here.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Everybody here. We are episode five of Asked Kevin Almost Anything,
part of these six Degrees with Kevin Bacon podcast. This
is it. This is our last episode season one, Six
Degrees with Kevin Bacon. I can't believe we have done this.
This was a germ of an idea, it came together.
(00:22):
I can't believe we're here. We've had amazing guests. Oh
my gosh, so many interesting conversations that we've had with people.
I've learned so much doing this, and also the responses
(00:47):
that I've got have not only been you know a
lot of them abroad, but also like people really touched
or people affected by something that they heard, which is
really what we wanted to do, right Stacey, Stacy Houston
(01:09):
is here with me as usual for Ask Kevin Almost Anything.
Stacy Houston, who is the executive director of six degrees
dot Org.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Welcome, Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's it's been an
amazing season and we've we've had such an outworring of
support and just positive thoughts and comments and you know,
new friends and old friends, and it's just been so
much fun.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, it really has been. It really has been. And
and and you know, as a we we've had our
regular podcast with celebrity guests. We've also added this kind
of fun version of it, which is Ask Kevin almost Anything,
where people are sending in questions you know that are
(02:01):
sometimes related to charitable things and sometimes not, you know,
just things that they want to know from me. And
for me, it's it's it's really fun because you know,
a lot of times you do as a as an entertainer,
when you're trying to promote things, you do interviews, and
you do those interviews with with journalists, whether they're you know,
(02:24):
working for a newspaper or they're on the talk show
or whatever, but they they have a journalistic point of view.
And even when I've gone and done you know, uh,
Q and A's my favorite part of a Q and A,
even if it's a great interviewer, is always the things
(02:44):
that I hear from the audience. Whenever the the you know,
the questions are opened up to the audience. And to me,
that's what Ask Kevin almost Anything is it's kind of
like opening up the questions to an audience to people
who aren't journalists, people who are you know, just regular
people want to hear about stuff, real questions, real questions,
(03:08):
real questions, real talk. What do you think should we
jump in?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
All right? So yeah, we should jump in. So this
episode is, like you said, our last and so we
had just such an outpouring of questions where people you know,
went onto the six degrees dot org site forwards last
asked Kevin and they left voice smails or they submitted
text where they dm'd us. And so this is our
(03:35):
attempt to try to get as many and as possible
in this last short episode. So bear with me. We're
going to go through as many as we can here.
But it should be fun, all right. So the first
one is kind of like a two parter from Lisa
Thomas and her question. The first part is what was
(03:58):
it like to hear the six degrees games for the
very first time?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Oh well, Lisa, thank you for the question. I can
tell you that the six degrees picture a world where
there was no social media picture, a world where the
idea of something being viral really just had to do
(04:25):
with you know, a cold. You know, there wasn't the
Internet existed, but not to the extent that it does now,
no smartphones, for instance. And I just started to kind
of hear about this idea of the Six Degrees of
(04:48):
Kevin Bacon. People would say to me, Hey, my friend's
cousin invented a game about you, or I'd say what,
Or they'd come up to me and say, I'm so
hungover because I was playing your game last night. And
I really didn't know what it was. And they started
(05:09):
to explain to me that it was a drinking game
that they were playing, where, you know, where you took
an actor and that actor had to be in a
movie that was in another movie with another actor in
that movie and another actor, and that you had to
connect it back to me in six degrees or less.
(05:30):
And I was like, I don't, I don't even know
what this is. And frankly, I was kind of horrified
by it. I don't it was imposter syndrome. I thought.
I thought that the joke of the game was that
can you believe that a lightweight like this can be
connected to any of the great actors in history, you know,
Lawrence Olivier or whoever it was, Meryl Streep or whatever.
(05:51):
I also heard Howard Stern talking about it. I was
I would listen to Howard Stern, you know, in the
Every Morning Learning and he was on the radio started
out as you know, as a New York you know,
that's where I first discovered when it was he was
local to New York. But and then he started talking
(06:13):
about six degrees Kevin Big and I was like, whoa,
what's that? And then there was a John Stewart had
a nighttime show and I went on as a guest,
and unbeknownst to me, they hadn't asked these young men
from Albright College in Pennsylvania to be also be guests
(06:34):
on the John Stewart Show. And they were the college
kids who had, you know, come up with the idea
of this game. And I was like, I didn't like it.
Let me put it that way. I didn't like it.
And over the years I just I thought to myself,
well it's just going to go away, and it just
didn't go away, you know, just it just hung in there.
(06:58):
And eventually I decided to, you know, embrace the beast.
You know, if you can't beat them, join them. And
that's when we created six degrees dot org and and
decided to take you know, something that was was quickly
becoming sort of like a brand, its own version of
(07:19):
a brand, and turned into something positive. Her second part
of the question looks like from Lisa is if I
know any celebrity who hasn't been associated with me? I'm
not sure. I mean, I mean, technically the game is
(07:41):
not really about associating. It's more about like how many
if I've worked with somebody, have they been in a
movie with somebody else who's been in a movie with me?
Or you know, how long many steps? But I can
tell you that based on the amount of movies that
I've done, any amount of people that have been in
the in the movies that I've done, I've done a
lot of movies, a lot lot of big casts, you know,
like like you know, uh JFK or something which is
(08:04):
like such an ensemble it's pretty hard to get past
maybe two or three degrees at this point.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
I think I've heard people ask that before, and I've
always wondered, like if someone has been able to say, like,
no one's connected. But I think they say that, like
we might not be connected by six degrees anymore. It
might be more like five degrees. Yeah, just because there's
so many people.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, definitely, yeah, definitely, you know, and and and as
I've said before, you know, the thing about six degrees
and six degrees dot org is when you take me
out of it, the concept is a beautiful concept because
it means that all of us who are riding on
this planet do have connections. And you know, connections are
(08:56):
the things that, hopefully, if we can try to remember them,
will inspire us to not hurt each other. You know.
That's that's that's the good side, that's the good part
of what this game could be.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
All right. I question number two Priscilla Hessner, and her
question is what was your favorite movie and leading lady
to work with?
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Wow? Okay, well, I have to say Kiras Edgewick because
otherwise I'll get you, I'll get in trouble. But taking
her out of the equation, I'll start with favorite movie.
You know, it's funny, Priscilla, I don't really have favorite movies.
I have a weird association with my movies because I
(09:53):
see them. I see them once or twice when I
make them, and then I kind of put them the
best and I don't really look at them anymore. So
my feelings about them are more related to the experience
that I had making them. Like when I think of
(10:15):
something like you know, uh, tremors, for instance, what I
think about is my wife being pregnant, being in the desert,
the sunsets, the the heat, you know, the the the
pizza place in the small town of Lone Pine. I
(10:35):
don't think about the actual movie that much. It's it's
I remember, you know, my shoes or something like that.
So so I can't really say that I have a favorite.
And it's also you know, I look at movies differently
if I'm not in them. You know, if you ask
(10:57):
me for our list of, you know, my five favor movies,
it would be hard to do, but I would definitely
be able to think about it. But I but I
couldn't make a list of five favorite Kevin Bacon movies.
I think that would just be weird. I don't know,
it just wouldn't feel right to me.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So then what would be one of your favorite movies
doesn't have to be like the number one favorite movie.
But if you had to say, like this film that
you watched that you weren't in, was something that was
like very memorable, Okay, well moved you in a certain way,
like what is that?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Gosh, there's so many, but I love Spinal Tap. That's
one of my favorite movies ever. And obviously because I
have associations with music and with touring, and but I
also thought that it was just absolutely hilarious. I'm so
excited that they're making another one. You know what I
just watched the other day, just kind of randomly care
(11:51):
I wanted to watch. It was Dog Day Afternoon. Boy.
What a good movie that is. Al Pacino, John Cassal
just absolutely Sidney Lamet directing, shot in New York in
the seventies, just an amazing movie. Ordinary people we were
(12:13):
talking about the other day, so great. You know, I'm
a little bit nostalgic about the movies of the seventies
because when I became an actor moved to New York
was nineteen seventy six, and so you know, those were
the movies that I and the people that I was
looking up to so much. Midnight Cowboy, Oh my gosh,
(12:37):
Dustin Hoffman, John Voight, amazing. I mean I look at
the list goes on and on.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
That's your great I mean, yeah, no, it's gonna say
that you hit on something because you're talking about how
you think about movies and kind of like what was
happening at that time. That's like our human connection to
something It's the same way with music, right, Like, if
I say this song is my favorite, it's really because
of like what was happening in my life and how
(13:06):
that song got me through it sure, or reminds me
of like this really happy, fun time.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
So it's kind of that that emotional connection that we
make with art generally.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I think, yeah, soundtrack of our lives and and and
always always goes back to where what our emotional connection
was at that time. But that's one of the great
things about making creating art, you know, is that you know,
every once in a while you can someone will It's
(13:41):
one thing when somebody says, hey, I really you know,
I liked you in that movie. It's another thing when
somebody says that movie really helped me when I was
going through a rough time, or or it made me
realize whatever, you know what I mean. It's pretty it's
a pretty cool thing that happens not all but but
(14:01):
once in a while, once in a while. Yeah, she
also wants to know what was my favorite leading lady. Uh, Well,
let's see, I mean, I don't know if this really
applies because I was a bad guy and and and
(14:25):
and she was the hero and spoiler alert, she ends
up killing me. But I would say Meryl Streep. I mean,
you know, I I I always loved her work. I
think that she is you know, singular in that she
a lot of us aspire to a level of, you know,
(14:49):
try to become a chameleon in in our work and
then the parts that we do and try to keep
people surprised and switch it up every time. And I
don't know that anybody is really done, not quite like Meryll.
I mean, I think she's just you know, has embodied
so many different kinds of people, uh, and from all
kind of walks of life and all, you know, places
(15:10):
all over the world, and you know, she's just you know,
kind of kind of a master and also one of
the most pleasant people to to work with. And we
had a lot of scenes together, and uh, this is
a movie called The River Wild where I was you know,
basically you know, kidnapped her and you know, so it's
I don't think i'd quite call it a leading lady,
(15:32):
but but she was the lead, and she was a lady,
So I'll go with Meryl.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
That's awesome. It's good to hear that she is as
great to work with as as you say, because you
know the whole don't meet your heroes thing. You always
want to hope that they're as wonderful as they they
seem like they are.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Right, Yeah, totally, totally, And and I don't often get
intimidate by actors, you know, I get much more intimidated
by meeting, you know, or playing with you know, famous musicians.
But actors, you know, I don't know, they don't normally
scare me. But you know, meeting her and going to
(16:18):
our first table read, and I was not a kid.
I mean I already done a bunch of movies. I
mean a ton of movies. It was like, oh boy,
whoa this is like? And you know what she does
is she just creates an environment right away where everybody
knows that we are all in this together and then
(16:40):
we're going to roll up our sleeves and we're going
to get to work on making this the best movie
that we possibly can. Like, like, there's no there's not
a moment of well, I'm the you know, I'm the star,
I'm running the show. You know she is. She's very
And it has to do with theater. You know, when
(17:00):
somebody is really aware that you have to play the
play or in this case, the screenplay that all the
pieces have to be working and then includes all the
other actors. So, yeah, she was great.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
It's fun. Do you want to read the next one?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Oh? It says, do I have to? You're an incredible
actor and first remember seeing you in a footloose? Are
you ever coming to Cincinnati, Ohio? Now I refuse to
come to Cincinnati. I will never come to Cincinnati, Ohio.
I've been to Cincinnati many times. What are you talking about?
I mean, that's part of the great thing about having
(17:35):
the Bacon Brothers band is that I don't let's say,
we haven't played in Alaska, we haven't played in Puerto Rico.
I don't know if there's many more states that we
haven't played in with the band.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
You played in Hawaii?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
We played in Hawaii. Yeah, and maybe one of the
dec otis I'm not sure. I get. I know that
we played in at least one Dakota, but which one
it was? I forget? But but yeah, no, I love
I love you know. Cincinnati is awesome. I'm trying to
(18:13):
think what the name of the club is there that
we played. So yes, we will no doubt be rolling
through again. And I haven't shot anything in Cincinnati. I
shot a movie in Cleveland. But probably people in Cincinnati
when they heard me say I shot a movie in Cleveland,
(18:35):
they rolled their eyes. Yeah, exactly right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Yeah, I think Ohio, I don't did This year they're
having the the eclipse, you know, the total totality eclipse
is happening again this year. Are you aware of that
happened like seven years ago. Yeah. Yeah. My husband and
I we drove down to Tennessee. It's like eleven hours
(19:02):
so that we could stand in a field in the
middle of like nowhere for a minute and a half
and see this eclipse. And I will tell you it
was life changing. It was one of the coolest things
I ever did. And it was it was we were
in the middle of like a you know, the wilderness,
(19:23):
and we were in front of a lake, and when
the eclipse happens, everything goes dark, of course, right, and
you can take off your glasses and look up and
you just see like that rained around the sun and
everything in the wilderness just like got quiet. All like
the locusts that usually hear the chirping stops and then
(19:45):
all these fish started jumping just straight.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Out of the lake.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
It was wild.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It was wow.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Really you start realizing right in that moment just how
that's all interconnected and how you know, wildlife response to
those types of things. But this year, because it's seven
years later, we kind of were tracking it and like
any time it's happening in the US, we're going to
go to it. And it's going like I want to say,
(20:14):
through Texas all the way up through Maine, but part
of it goes through Ohio, which is why I'm telling
you the story coming back to you.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
So you have to be exactly at the right lab
fut or whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Some people will go like close enough and they'll see.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Like a partial I remember this, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Just do the totality. It's like, and this one is
going to be like four and a half minutes, so
it's like much longer that you get kind of experience.
But I want to say, it's actually going through like
totalities happening in Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Oh wow, but you have to you have to pray
for a sunny day.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, that's actually what happened with this last one. We
were going to be going to North Carolina, which is
a lot closer, and then a storm started moving in
and we were like no, no, no, no, So we just
like hooked to turn and drove into Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
And you guys are so cool. That is so great.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I mean it's like pre kids, right, you're like kids,
right right, And we did this disbursement camping just like
on the side of the of the road. We found
this farm and they were like, come on in thirty dollars,
you can stay here and to use our showers. It
was like and I was like, okay, this is a
little Tennessee, Like so are we are?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
We good?
Speaker 2 (21:36):
But it was fine. It was really fun. Actually they
had like a live band. Oh I made a party
out of it.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, just people just had a farm on the side
of the road and they.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Just had a farm.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Yeah, they like made T shirtsactly cool. That's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
So if you're listening and you are close to the
totality line, you have to make that drive.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
What month do you remember, It's in April April. Wow,
if it comes through, I think I'll be in Atlanta.
I hope it comes through Atlanta, yeah, or someplace with
you know, swinging distance exactly. That's cool.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
So yeah, so yes, okay, that's your answer. You have
been to Cincinnati and you will be back to Cincinnati
at some point.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Yes, And I've never seen this totality what do you
call it?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
The total It's like a totality eclipse.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Totality.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Someone probably listening there like that's not what it's actually called. Yeah,
the totality eclipse.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
It's like it's very very cool, can't wait.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's cool. So this next question came into
our d MS, and this was, you know, how have
you ever done a podcast with the Footloose Cast? And
they kind of listed Sara, Jessica Parker, John Litgow, Diane Wise.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Weste, thank you, and Wes uh No, I've never done
a podcast with the Footloose Cast. Sarah Jessica Parker, John Lithgow,
Diane Weist, et cetera. Yeah, I don't know what that
would be. I mean, I could see, you know, we
(23:30):
could talk about the memories of it. I don't think
it would be enough for multiple episodes. That would maybe
one episode. Maybe there's a podcast where they bring on
casts of movies. You know. It's interesting. I saw a
reading of a play recently which is called This Is
Our Youth and it was a fundraiser and it was
(23:54):
Mark Ruffalo and uh Matt Damon. So play by Kenneth Lanergan.
That was a big hit I guess probably I'm guessing
it was maybe in the eighties or early nineties, and
(24:14):
Mark had played the part when he was he was
playing like I think a nineteen year old or a
teenager or something like that. And I think Matt Matt
Damon went to and did it in the West End
in London, but for this benefit they did a reading
of it and now they're grown men, you know. And
(24:36):
Mark actually had a giant like a Santa Claus Beard
and White white Beard, and it was so interesting because
you saw people as older people play characters that they
played when they were younger, and there was something really
(24:56):
kind of like fascinating and touching about that. So, I
don't know, I was chatting with you know, Ruffle. I
was like, this is a great idea, like people should
do this, you know, with with you know, material plays
or or movies that you've done that are you know,
have a sort of This play was pretty iconic in
New York, kind of off Broadway theater circles. You know,
(25:21):
this would be a thing, you know, like to do
to take old old you know, things, and and revisit
them and not pretend that we're not young anymore, but
just kind of like go for it. Yeah, so maybe, uh,
maybe that would be a fun thing to do. Do
a reading someday of that. Although that movie there's so
(25:42):
much dancing in it that I don't know that the
I don't know how a reading would really work, you know,
unless you were, like you, unless I was jumping around
in a warehouse or something.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
You know, let's dance.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah, let's dance. Nobody he's dancing. Yeah, No, I don't Yeah,
but anyway, that would be I would love to. I
have I have, you know, I have seen not Sarah
Jessica Parker so much, but I've seen John. We actually
John Let's Go. And I actually did a what was
(26:17):
it like one of those We did one of those
like you know when one actor interviews another actor thing
I can't remember something, some kind of round table thing whatever,
And that was kind of fun because we did reminisce
about about that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, that seems cool. I mean, I think there's an
a soldier right now. Maybe it's always been that way,
but it feels like there's a moment where I've seen
these podcasts popping up that are like One Tree Hill
and it's like the cast and they're they're just having
at like talking about each episode.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Oh really, Well, there's like, you know, people that love
The Office, so it's not so much like the cat Ask,
but like The Office was such an iconic show and
has spanned generations, and so like there's kind of just
a show that talks about that as well. But I
think that's like for the super fan. I think that's
the cool thing about podcasts is that you can kind
(27:17):
of dive deep into like very niche things that you
must have.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, and anyone can really do it in that case too, So.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Yeah, it is amazing podcasts. How the two things that
are amazing about podcasts is to me now having you know,
here we are at the at the at the end
of this season, how much people how long people are
willing to listen to something about one you know, uh topic,
(27:51):
Like for instance, we I've sometimes listened to this thing
called the Rewatchables. Well I'll just take a movie and
like three guys will just wat watch it again and
just break it down and you know and talk about
like all the details of the movie and the details
that come out are just like incredible, And I'll find
myself listening to all of a sudden, now we's going by,
like I could have just watched the movie, but instead
(28:13):
of just you know, I've been I've been listening to
these three guys I don't know, you know, just talking
about the movie. But also it's just, you know, how
how much people are willing and able to just kind
of riff on stuff, you know, putting a you know,
a microphone on somebody somebody's face and they'll just people
(28:35):
just riff you know, they have opinions and things to say.
It's it's it's it's cool. I mean, it's really is.
It's just something that's I don't know. I never it
seemed like for so many years doing press, for so
so many years, you know, everything was so boiled down
to a SoundBite, and you know, your talk show appearances
(28:58):
would always be over and a heartbeat, and uh, you know,
newspaper interviews maybe would be a little more extensive, but
would basically you know be you know, be one line
that would pop out of the thing and that would
be it. You know, that's all that anybody ever knew
(29:19):
and things were happening in such short little bits, and
it just seems like this whole podcasting thing is I mean,
sometimes I wonder how does everybody have enough time to
listen to I shouldn't say that the commutes.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I think, I mean except for us, like definitely every time, except.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
For us, exactly, exactly except for us. Yeah, commutes. That's good.
That's a good point. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Yeah, I always listened line like cooking or you know,
it's a great hands free kind of thing to do. Yeah,
yard work, you know, there's just so many things that
you can do, like exercise, keeping your hands busy. Yeah,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yeah, I listened a lot when.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
I'm Yeah, I mean, and you also brought up an
interesting point because I kind of look at it the
same way as like a museum tour, Like the first
time I actually paid, like on our honeymoon, we went
to Europe and we paid for like a docent tour.
You know, we had like someone that walked us through,
(30:22):
you know, a museum and actually talked to us about
the art. And I was like game changer, Like, you know,
I always thought just walking through on your own and
kind of reading the signs word enough to be like, Wow,
this is really beautiful. But then it just takes it
to a whole other level with someone who's like dedicated
so much of their life to this these works of
(30:42):
art and understanding them and knowing the historical context and
what was happening when it was being created, Like it
opens up things in a different way. So I think
it's very similar as like you're like, I could have
just watched the movie. I'm like, but not with that
level of detail like inside and behind the scenes and
what's happening.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
You know. Yeah, it's exactly right. People who have a
real expertise about something are very very interesting to me.
I really really appreciate that. I listened to a guy
named Andrew Hickey who has this podcast called The History
of Rock and five hundred Songs, and I'm on about
song one eighty something or and and some of those
(31:21):
episodes are two hours long where he's basically giving you
a rock in depth rock history, lesson on the song,
on the political structure at that time, on things of
a scientific name. I mean, it's just incredible the kind
of research that this guy does. Everybody who plays on it,
(31:44):
how they're connected, a lot of six degree stuff, anyway
it is I love I love I love experts. If
you have the means, I'm totally with you. I you know,
it's sometimes it can be expensive, but the but tour
guys are just the best when you're going too a
you know, some kind of a museum situation? Really or
(32:05):
I love that? Well? Should we move on to the
last one?
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah? Do you want to read it?
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Okay? A documentary on Netflix called The Movies That Made
Us Dash Forrest Gump stated that Kevin was offered the
role of Lieutenant Dan Wait a minute, but turned it down?
Is that true? And if so, why did you turn
it down? You idiot? You could have been in Forrest Gump.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Okay, So first off, let me say the Movies that
Made Us Forrest Gump. I should watch this documentary. Sounds fun.
I guess they'd pick a bunch of different movies and then.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
That's what it seems like.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah. Yeah, I was offered the role of Lieutenant Dan
played by Gary Soonise. I believe that was Karen who
was also Actually there's an interesting connection. Gary Sinise and
Tom Hanks were in a Pall thirteen, So I don't
(33:07):
I don't remember if I turned it down. I don't
remember being offered it. I don't remember any of those things.
I'd have to check. Let me check my email. I
don't think there was an email. No, Yeah, I've like that. Yeah,
it was too painful, the fact that it came out.
It was like one of the biggest hits in history,
(33:28):
and you know, it was just too painful for me.
I have I have to try to forget it now.
You know, Uh, being offered things is a strange. It's
a strange process, you know, just a little bit of
behind the scenes movie stuff because the casting process. You know,
(33:51):
sometimes what happens is that someone will say, there's a movie.
Are you interested in this movie? They're interested in you,
would you like to read it. It's not really an offer.
It's a gauging interest that then has to slide into
(34:12):
the well, yeah I want to meet and talk about it,
or yeah I want to come in and audition if
that's what they're going to ask for, or you know,
whatever it happens to be. It doesn't always and so
in a lot of times, in people's minds, they go,
I was offered that, but you weren't quite offered that,
(34:34):
so maybe I was. I really have no memory of it.
Gary was amazing and I never I really try and
even when it comes to things that I didn't get,
like people have asked me before, you know, what were
(34:54):
you up for, like that you really wanted, like what
were those parts or you know, and I just in
order to survive, I have to just put them off
out of my head. I just kind of dump them
off the back of the hard drive and I really
literally forget that I was up for a movie or not.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, I am, obviously there's reason I was part of
the movies that made ESCU. He said it was such
an iconic movie. But it's like when you see a
role like that, like Lieutenant Dan, you're like, that could
have not been anyone but Gary soniz right when they
they land that role, and you just and it's like
(35:36):
that was like made for him. So it all happens
for a reason. And interesting saying I would.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Have sucked in that part.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
But I'm not saying that, not totally. But it's one
of those things where you know, he then took this
role and I think he has like the Lieutenant Dan band.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Oh yeah, that's right, he does, and.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
So like think about that, like he's taken this role.
It's not so much just been a role where he
played it and left it. It's like become this branding
thing that he now uses to help believe wounded warriors
and like soldiers and veterans, like that's kind of his platform.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
It is. Yeah, it is, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
And I just think that's really special too, Like totally,
it's totally he connected so deeply with that role, you know.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
Yeah. I don't think a lot of people have I
mean a lot of people have, you know, whatever foundations
and stuff like that, but that is a that that's
there's not a lot of people that have done have
gone directly into that that from an experience from apart
and really, you're right, it really is. It's it's pretty remarkable. Yeah,
(36:49):
check out the uh. I think if you could probably
google Lieutenant Dan Band, then there's probably links to some
of the wounded warrior stuff that that Gary's bob with
So that's definitely worth checking out.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
All right, So now we're going to end with our
last audio clip. So it's the last AKA on your
clip of this season, and we're super excited and this
one comes all the way from Holly from Canada.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Hi, Kevin, My name is Holly from southwestern Ontario and Canada.
And my question is, what was your earliest experience with
any sort of charitable work and was it something you
participated in, something you witnessed, and what made it really
resonate with you enough to continue that sort of work
in your adult life.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Wow, that's such an interesting question. Thank you for that,
Holly from Canada. Let me think about that. The first
experience with anything of a charitable nation nature. You know,
my mom was not only very involved with various charities,
(37:59):
but also uh you know, kind of an activist anti
war and civil rights. And I think that her her
uh just ethos sort of about that and about helping
people sort of found its way into me. I remember
(38:22):
once in philadelph Philadelphia where I grew up, going up
to uh Fairmount Park, and it was Earth Day and
I think it was one of the first Earth Days.
I don't remember where that was, it would have been
probably the early seventies, and there were things to do,
you know, kind of it was sort of about like
(38:42):
picking up trash and and you know, I don't know,
planting flowers or planting something like that, the trees, you know,
and I seem to remember that I got involved with
with that with that Earth Day many those many many
many years ago. And the truth is that I kind
(39:04):
of put that aside for a long time in my
life and really, you know, as I've said before on
the podcast, like gotten really so focused on just me
and my own career and my drive and my ambition
and all those things. And then you know, I started
(39:30):
to think about trying to figure out ways to give
back again. And I think, but I think that it
was definitely it was more than one one instance. I
think it was more kind of like the just my
mother's you know, point of view about the world that
really pushed me in that direction. What about you, Stacy,
do you have a one moment?
Speaker 2 (39:53):
I talked about this a few times, But I'm just
kind of a deep EmPATH. And so for me, I
was always finding these opportunities to like march or hold
a sign or volunteer in some type of way. And
I found that like every time I did something like that,
(40:18):
you know, served people, it it did something to my
kind of like happy eater, right like, it filled me
up in a way and created me created more fulfillment
in my life. So for me, it was you know,
I've talked about experiences growing up with a mom who
(40:40):
was legally blind, and you start looking at the world
a lot differently than I think some kids that don't
have that same experience. What does access look like? And
you know, what does it look like for people to
you know, move through the world in the same way equally.
So that sort of thing kind of I think shaped me.
(41:04):
But when I love so much and I just love
this question too, Holly, Like it's just the perfect final
question of our season year because at the end of
the day, we all will find whether it's early in
life later in life, we'll all find an opportunity to
really say, like, I'm inspired to act, and it doesn't
(41:29):
have to be something big or huge. And in fact,
I think people don't take an action to try to
serve or help or volunteer because they think that their
contribution is too small. Right, I don't have a lot
of money, or I don't have a lot of time,
or I don't have a lot of expertise. But in reality,
(41:51):
everything collectively is so meaningful. And I think that's like
the heart behind six degrees is this, you know, the
collective impact we can all make when we all do
something and it might feel like you're just doing something
in your corner of the world that won't impact over here,
but you never know who's watching whose life you're going
(42:13):
to impact by that small action or seemingly small action.
I should say, so, Yeah, I think that there is
a you know, a great opportunity to just start where
you are. And I hope that if people learn anything
from this show, it's that there are so many great
(42:34):
causes no matter what your passions are, that you know
need your help and support and your voice or your amplification.
So you can share about it, and you can talk
about it, and you can volunteer, you can financially support,
but there's just so many wonderful organizations that collectively we
(42:56):
can all help.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
And that is a great way to close out this season.
Thank you everybody, Thank you Stacy. Thank you Stacy for
all of the incredible work that you do with six
degrees dot org and for being my partner and for
helping doing such great work on this is this podcast
(43:17):
and uh, you know, it's been really fun on these
ask Kevin almost anythings to just hang out and chat
with you. And I also want to thank everybody that listened.
You know this. We're trying to We're trying to have
fun here and talk to you know, famous people that
(43:37):
you want to hear from, but we're also trying to
make you know, an impact and trying to make the
world a better place. And when you listen, that means
everything to us. It really is. You know, you're the
reason why why we're doing this, and I'm just trying
to do what i can with what I've got. Uh,
(43:58):
we've had great converse stations. Thank you for calling, thank
you for writing in. You know, it doesn't matter who
you are, where you started. As Stacy said, you can
do something to impact someone else in a positive way.
It all starts with us. We are connected. Six Degrees
of Kevin Bacon has very little to do with Kevin
(44:20):
Bacon and all to do with our connections. So thank
you so much for tuning in, and we'll see you
next time.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
If you are inspired by today's episode, please join us
in supporting SixDegrees dot org by texting the word Bacon
to seven zero seven zero seven zero. Your gift empowers
us to continue to produce programs that highlight the incredible
work of everyday heroes, well also enabling us to provide
essential resources to those that need it the most. Once again,
(44:53):
text b a con to seven zero seven zero seven zero,
or visit at six degrees dot org to learn more.
Everybody here. We are episode five of Asked Kevin Almost Anything,
part of these six Degrees with Kevin Bacon podcast. This
is it. This is our last episode season one, Six
Degrees with Kevin Bacon. I can't believe we have done this.
This was a germ of an idea, it came together.
(00:22):
I can't believe we're here. We've had amazing guests. Oh
my gosh, so many interesting conversations that we've had with people.
I've learned so much doing this, and also the responses
(00:47):
that I've got have not only been you know a
lot of them abroad, but also like people really touched
or people affected by something that they heard, which is
really what we wanted to do, right Stacey, Stacy Houston
(01:09):
is here with me as usual for Ask Kevin Almost Anything.
Stacy Houston, who is the executive director of six degrees
dot Org.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Welcome, Thanks for having me. Yeah, it's it's been an
amazing season and we've we've had such an outworring of
support and just positive thoughts and comments and you know,
new friends and old friends, and it's just been so
much fun.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, it really has been. It really has been. And
and and you know, as a we we've had our
regular podcast with celebrity guests. We've also added this kind
of fun version of it, which is Ask Kevin almost Anything,
where people are sending in questions you know that are
(02:01):
sometimes related to charitable things and sometimes not, you know,
just things that they want to know from me. And
for me, it's it's it's really fun because you know,
a lot of times you do as a as an entertainer,
when you're trying to promote things, you do interviews, and
you do those interviews with with journalists, whether they're you know,
(02:24):
working for a newspaper or they're on the talk show
or whatever, but they they have a journalistic point of view.
And even when I've gone and done you know, uh,
Q and A's my favorite part of a Q and A,
even if it's a great interviewer, is always the things
(02:44):
that I hear from the audience. Whenever the the you know,
the questions are opened up to the audience. And to me,
that's what Ask Kevin almost Anything is it's kind of
like opening up the questions to an audience to people
who aren't journalists, people who are you know, just regular
people want to hear about stuff, real questions, real questions,
(03:08):
real questions, real talk. What do you think should we
jump in?
Speaker 2 (03:13):
All right? So yeah, we should jump in. So this
episode is, like you said, our last and so we
had just such an outpouring of questions where people you know,
went onto the six degrees dot org site forwards last
asked Kevin and they left voice smails or they submitted
text where they dm'd us. And so this is our
(03:35):
attempt to try to get as many and as possible
in this last short episode. So bear with me. We're
going to go through as many as we can here.
But it should be fun, all right. So the first
one is kind of like a two parter from Lisa
Thomas and her question. The first part is what was
(03:58):
it like to hear the six degrees games for the
very first time?
Speaker 1 (04:02):
Oh well, Lisa, thank you for the question. I can
tell you that the six degrees picture a world where
there was no social media picture, a world where the
idea of something being viral really just had to do
(04:25):
with you know, a cold. You know, there wasn't the
Internet existed, but not to the extent that it does now,
no smartphones, for instance. And I just started to kind
of hear about this idea of the Six Degrees of
(04:48):
Kevin Bacon. People would say to me, Hey, my friend's
cousin invented a game about you, or I'd say what,
Or they'd come up to me and say, I'm so
hungover because I was playing your game last night. And
I really didn't know what it was. And they started
(05:09):
to explain to me that it was a drinking game
that they were playing, where, you know, where you took
an actor and that actor had to be in a
movie that was in another movie with another actor in
that movie and another actor, and that you had to
connect it back to me in six degrees or less.
(05:30):
And I was like, I don't, I don't even know
what this is. And frankly, I was kind of horrified
by it. I don't it was imposter syndrome. I thought.
I thought that the joke of the game was that
can you believe that a lightweight like this can be
connected to any of the great actors in history, you know,
Lawrence Olivier or whoever it was, Meryl Streep or whatever.
(05:51):
I also heard Howard Stern talking about it. I was
I would listen to Howard Stern, you know, in the
Every Morning Learning and he was on the radio started
out as you know, as a New York you know,
that's where I first discovered when it was he was
local to New York. But and then he started talking
(06:13):
about six degrees Kevin Big and I was like, whoa,
what's that? And then there was a John Stewart had
a nighttime show and I went on as a guest,
and unbeknownst to me, they hadn't asked these young men
from Albright College in Pennsylvania to be also be guests
(06:34):
on the John Stewart Show. And they were the college
kids who had, you know, come up with the idea
of this game. And I was like, I didn't like it.
Let me put it that way. I didn't like it.
And over the years I just I thought to myself,
well it's just going to go away, and it just
didn't go away, you know, just it just hung in there.
(06:58):
And eventually I decided to, you know, embrace the beast.
You know, if you can't beat them, join them. And
that's when we created six degrees dot org and and
decided to take you know, something that was was quickly
becoming sort of like a brand, its own version of
(07:19):
a brand, and turned into something positive. Her second part
of the question looks like from Lisa is if I
know any celebrity who hasn't been associated with me? I'm
not sure. I mean, I mean, technically the game is
(07:41):
not really about associating. It's more about like how many
if I've worked with somebody, have they been in a
movie with somebody else who's been in a movie with me?
Or you know, how long many steps? But I can
tell you that based on the amount of movies that
I've done, any amount of people that have been in
the in the movies that I've done, I've done a
lot of movies, a lot lot of big casts, you know,
like like you know, uh JFK or something which is
(08:04):
like such an ensemble it's pretty hard to get past
maybe two or three degrees at this point.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
I think I've heard people ask that before, and I've
always wondered, like if someone has been able to say, like,
no one's connected. But I think they say that, like
we might not be connected by six degrees anymore. It
might be more like five degrees. Yeah, just because there's
so many people.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yeah, definitely, yeah, definitely, you know, and and and as
I've said before, you know, the thing about six degrees
and six degrees dot org is when you take me
out of it, the concept is a beautiful concept because
it means that all of us who are riding on
this planet do have connections. And you know, connections are
(08:56):
the things that, hopefully, if we can try to remember them,
will inspire us to not hurt each other. You know.
That's that's that's the good side, that's the good part
of what this game could be.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
All right. I question number two Priscilla Hessner, and her
question is what was your favorite movie and leading lady
to work with?
Speaker 1 (09:28):
Wow? Okay, well, I have to say Kiras Edgewick because
otherwise I'll get you, I'll get in trouble. But taking
her out of the equation, I'll start with favorite movie.
You know, it's funny, Priscilla, I don't really have favorite movies.
I have a weird association with my movies because I
(09:53):
see them. I see them once or twice when I
make them, and then I kind of put them the
best and I don't really look at them anymore. So
my feelings about them are more related to the experience
that I had making them. Like when I think of
(10:15):
something like you know, uh, tremors, for instance, what I
think about is my wife being pregnant, being in the desert,
the sunsets, the the heat, you know, the the the
pizza place in the small town of Lone Pine. I
(10:35):
don't think about the actual movie that much. It's it's
I remember, you know, my shoes or something like that.
So so I can't really say that I have a favorite.
And it's also you know, I look at movies differently
if I'm not in them. You know, if you ask
(10:57):
me for our list of, you know, my five favor movies,
it would be hard to do, but I would definitely
be able to think about it. But I but I
couldn't make a list of five favorite Kevin Bacon movies.
I think that would just be weird. I don't know,
it just wouldn't feel right to me.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So then what would be one of your favorite movies
doesn't have to be like the number one favorite movie.
But if you had to say, like this film that
you watched that you weren't in, was something that was
like very memorable, Okay, well moved you in a certain way,
like what is that?
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Gosh, there's so many, but I love Spinal Tap. That's
one of my favorite movies ever. And obviously because I
have associations with music and with touring, and but I
also thought that it was just absolutely hilarious. I'm so
excited that they're making another one. You know what I
just watched the other day, just kind of randomly care
(11:51):
I wanted to watch. It was Dog Day Afternoon. Boy.
What a good movie that is. Al Pacino, John Cassal
just absolutely Sidney Lamet directing, shot in New York in
the seventies, just an amazing movie. Ordinary people we were
(12:13):
talking about the other day, so great. You know, I'm
a little bit nostalgic about the movies of the seventies
because when I became an actor moved to New York
was nineteen seventy six, and so you know, those were
the movies that I and the people that I was
looking up to so much. Midnight Cowboy, Oh my gosh,
(12:37):
Dustin Hoffman, John Voight, amazing. I mean I look at
the list goes on and on.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
That's your great I mean, yeah, no, it's gonna say
that you hit on something because you're talking about how
you think about movies and kind of like what was
happening at that time. That's like our human connection to
something It's the same way with music, right, Like, if
I say this song is my favorite, it's really because
of like what was happening in my life and how
(13:06):
that song got me through it sure, or reminds me
of like this really happy, fun time.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
So it's kind of that that emotional connection that we
make with art generally.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
I think, yeah, soundtrack of our lives and and and
always always goes back to where what our emotional connection
was at that time. But that's one of the great
things about making creating art, you know, is that you know,
every once in a while you can someone will It's
(13:41):
one thing when somebody says, hey, I really you know,
I liked you in that movie. It's another thing when
somebody says that movie really helped me when I was
going through a rough time, or or it made me
realize whatever, you know what I mean. It's pretty it's
a pretty cool thing that happens not all but but
(14:01):
once in a while, once in a while. Yeah, she
also wants to know what was my favorite leading lady. Uh, Well,
let's see, I mean, I don't know if this really
applies because I was a bad guy and and and
(14:25):
and she was the hero and spoiler alert, she ends
up killing me. But I would say Meryl Streep. I mean,
you know, I I I always loved her work. I
think that she is you know, singular in that she
a lot of us aspire to a level of, you know,
(14:49):
try to become a chameleon in in our work and
then the parts that we do and try to keep
people surprised and switch it up every time. And I
don't know that anybody is really done, not quite like Meryll.
I mean, I think she's just you know, has embodied
so many different kinds of people, uh, and from all
kind of walks of life and all, you know, places
(15:10):
all over the world, and you know, she's just you know,
kind of kind of a master and also one of
the most pleasant people to to work with. And we
had a lot of scenes together, and uh, this is
a movie called The River Wild where I was you know,
basically you know, kidnapped her and you know, so it's
I don't think i'd quite call it a leading lady,
(15:32):
but but she was the lead, and she was a lady,
So I'll go with Meryl.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
That's awesome. It's good to hear that she is as
great to work with as as you say, because you
know the whole don't meet your heroes thing. You always
want to hope that they're as wonderful as they they
seem like they are.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Right, Yeah, totally, totally, And and I don't often get
intimidate by actors, you know, I get much more intimidated
by meeting, you know, or playing with you know, famous musicians.
But actors, you know, I don't know, they don't normally
scare me. But you know, meeting her and going to
(16:18):
our first table read, and I was not a kid.
I mean I already done a bunch of movies. I
mean a ton of movies. It was like, oh boy,
whoa this is like? And you know what she does
is she just creates an environment right away where everybody
knows that we are all in this together and then
(16:40):
we're going to roll up our sleeves and we're going
to get to work on making this the best movie
that we possibly can. Like, like, there's no there's not
a moment of well, I'm the you know, I'm the star,
I'm running the show. You know she is. She's very
And it has to do with theater. You know, when
(17:00):
somebody is really aware that you have to play the
play or in this case, the screenplay that all the
pieces have to be working and then includes all the
other actors. So, yeah, she was great.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
It's fun. Do you want to read the next one?
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Oh? It says, do I have to? You're an incredible
actor and first remember seeing you in a footloose? Are
you ever coming to Cincinnati, Ohio? Now I refuse to
come to Cincinnati. I will never come to Cincinnati, Ohio.
I've been to Cincinnati many times. What are you talking about?
I mean, that's part of the great thing about having
(17:35):
the Bacon Brothers band is that I don't let's say,
we haven't played in Alaska, we haven't played in Puerto Rico.
I don't know if there's many more states that we
haven't played in with the band.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
You played in Hawaii?
Speaker 1 (17:53):
We played in Hawaii. Yeah, and maybe one of the
dec otis I'm not sure. I get. I know that
we played in at least one Dakota, but which one
it was? I forget? But but yeah, no, I love
I love you know. Cincinnati is awesome. I'm trying to
(18:13):
think what the name of the club is there that
we played. So yes, we will no doubt be rolling
through again. And I haven't shot anything in Cincinnati. I
shot a movie in Cleveland. But probably people in Cincinnati
when they heard me say I shot a movie in Cleveland,
(18:35):
they rolled their eyes. Yeah, exactly right, exactly.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Yeah, I think Ohio, I don't did This year they're
having the the eclipse, you know, the total totality eclipse
is happening again this year. Are you aware of that
happened like seven years ago. Yeah. Yeah. My husband and
I we drove down to Tennessee. It's like eleven hours
(19:02):
so that we could stand in a field in the
middle of like nowhere for a minute and a half
and see this eclipse. And I will tell you it
was life changing. It was one of the coolest things
I ever did. And it was it was we were
in the middle of like a you know, the wilderness,
(19:23):
and we were in front of a lake, and when
the eclipse happens, everything goes dark, of course, right, and
you can take off your glasses and look up and
you just see like that rained around the sun and
everything in the wilderness just like got quiet. All like
the locusts that usually hear the chirping stops and then
(19:45):
all these fish started jumping just straight.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Out of the lake.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
It was wild.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
It was wow.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Really you start realizing right in that moment just how
that's all interconnected and how you know, wildlife response to
those types of things. But this year, because it's seven
years later, we kind of were tracking it and like
any time it's happening in the US, we're going to
go to it. And it's going like I want to say,
(20:14):
through Texas all the way up through Maine, but part
of it goes through Ohio, which is why I'm telling
you the story coming back to you.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
So you have to be exactly at the right lab
fut or whatever it is.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Some people will go like close enough and they'll see.
Speaker 1 (20:29):
Like a partial I remember this, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
Just do the totality. It's like, and this one is
going to be like four and a half minutes, so
it's like much longer that you get kind of experience.
But I want to say, it's actually going through like
totalities happening in Cleveland.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Oh wow, but you have to you have to pray
for a sunny day.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Yeah, that's actually what happened with this last one. We
were going to be going to North Carolina, which is
a lot closer, and then a storm started moving in
and we were like no, no, no, no, So we just
like hooked to turn and drove into Tennessee.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
And you guys are so cool. That is so great.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
I mean it's like pre kids, right, you're like kids,
right right, And we did this disbursement camping just like
on the side of the of the road. We found
this farm and they were like, come on in thirty dollars,
you can stay here and to use our showers. It
was like and I was like, okay, this is a
little Tennessee, Like so are we are?
Speaker 1 (21:35):
We good?
Speaker 2 (21:36):
But it was fine. It was really fun. Actually they
had like a live band. Oh I made a party
out of it.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Yeah, just people just had a farm on the side
of the road and they.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
Just had a farm.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
Yeah, they like made T shirtsactly cool. That's amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:53):
So if you're listening and you are close to the
totality line, you have to make that drive.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
What month do you remember, It's in April April. Wow,
if it comes through, I think I'll be in Atlanta.
I hope it comes through Atlanta, yeah, or someplace with
you know, swinging distance exactly. That's cool.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
So yeah, so yes, okay, that's your answer. You have
been to Cincinnati and you will be back to Cincinnati
at some point.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Yes, And I've never seen this totality what do you
call it?
Speaker 2 (22:29):
The total It's like a totality eclipse.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Totality.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Someone probably listening there like that's not what it's actually called. Yeah,
the totality eclipse.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
It's like it's very very cool, can't wait.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Yeah, yeah, that's cool. So this next question came into
our d MS, and this was, you know, how have
you ever done a podcast with the Footloose Cast? And
they kind of listed Sara, Jessica Parker, John Litgow, Diane Wise.
Speaker 1 (23:08):
Weste, thank you, and Wes uh No, I've never done
a podcast with the Footloose Cast. Sarah Jessica Parker, John Lithgow,
Diane Weist, et cetera. Yeah, I don't know what that
would be. I mean, I could see, you know, we
(23:30):
could talk about the memories of it. I don't think
it would be enough for multiple episodes. That would maybe
one episode. Maybe there's a podcast where they bring on
casts of movies. You know. It's interesting. I saw a
reading of a play recently which is called This Is
Our Youth and it was a fundraiser and it was
(23:54):
Mark Ruffalo and uh Matt Damon. So play by Kenneth Lanergan.
That was a big hit I guess probably I'm guessing
it was maybe in the eighties or early nineties, and
(24:14):
Mark had played the part when he was he was
playing like I think a nineteen year old or a
teenager or something like that. And I think Matt Matt
Damon went to and did it in the West End
in London, but for this benefit they did a reading
of it and now they're grown men, you know. And
(24:36):
Mark actually had a giant like a Santa Claus Beard
and White white Beard, and it was so interesting because
you saw people as older people play characters that they
played when they were younger, and there was something really
(24:56):
kind of like fascinating and touching about that. So, I
don't know, I was chatting with you know, Ruffle. I
was like, this is a great idea, like people should
do this, you know, with with you know, material plays
or or movies that you've done that are you know,
have a sort of This play was pretty iconic in
New York, kind of off Broadway theater circles. You know,
(25:21):
this would be a thing, you know, like to do
to take old old you know, things, and and revisit
them and not pretend that we're not young anymore, but
just kind of like go for it. Yeah, so maybe, uh,
maybe that would be a fun thing to do. Do
a reading someday of that. Although that movie there's so
(25:42):
much dancing in it that I don't know that the
I don't know how a reading would really work, you know,
unless you were, like you, unless I was jumping around
in a warehouse or something.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
You know, let's dance.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah, let's dance. Nobody he's dancing. Yeah, No, I don't Yeah,
but anyway, that would be I would love to. I
have I have, you know, I have seen not Sarah
Jessica Parker so much, but I've seen John. We actually
John Let's Go. And I actually did a what was
(26:17):
it like one of those We did one of those
like you know when one actor interviews another actor thing
I can't remember something, some kind of round table thing whatever,
And that was kind of fun because we did reminisce
about about that movie.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Yeah, that seems cool. I mean, I think there's an
a soldier right now. Maybe it's always been that way,
but it feels like there's a moment where I've seen
these podcasts popping up that are like One Tree Hill
and it's like the cast and they're they're just having
at like talking about each episode.
Speaker 1 (26:55):
You know.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Oh really, Well, there's like, you know, people that love
The Office, so it's not so much like the cat Ask,
but like The Office was such an iconic show and
has spanned generations, and so like there's kind of just
a show that talks about that as well. But I
think that's like for the super fan. I think that's
the cool thing about podcasts is that you can kind
(27:17):
of dive deep into like very niche things that you
must have.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Yeah, and anyone can really do it in that case too, So.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Yeah, it is amazing podcasts. How the two things that
are amazing about podcasts is to me now having you know,
here we are at the at the at the end
of this season, how much people how long people are
willing to listen to something about one you know, uh topic,
(27:51):
Like for instance, we I've sometimes listened to this thing
called the Rewatchables. Well I'll just take a movie and
like three guys will just wat watch it again and
just break it down and you know and talk about
like all the details of the movie and the details
that come out are just like incredible, And I'll find
myself listening to all of a sudden, now we's going by,
like I could have just watched the movie, but instead
(28:13):
of just you know, I've been I've been listening to
these three guys I don't know, you know, just talking
about the movie. But also it's just, you know, how
how much people are willing and able to just kind
of riff on stuff, you know, putting a you know,
a microphone on somebody somebody's face and they'll just people
(28:35):
just riff you know, they have opinions and things to say.
It's it's it's it's cool. I mean, it's really is.
It's just something that's I don't know. I never it
seemed like for so many years doing press, for so
so many years, you know, everything was so boiled down
to a SoundBite, and you know, your talk show appearances
(28:58):
would always be over and a heartbeat, and uh, you know,
newspaper interviews maybe would be a little more extensive, but
would basically you know be you know, be one line
that would pop out of the thing and that would
be it. You know, that's all that anybody ever knew
(29:19):
and things were happening in such short little bits, and
it just seems like this whole podcasting thing is I mean,
sometimes I wonder how does everybody have enough time to
listen to I shouldn't say that the commutes.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
I think, I mean except for us, like definitely every time, except.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
For us, exactly, exactly except for us. Yeah, commutes. That's good.
That's a good point. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
Yeah, I always listened line like cooking or you know,
it's a great hands free kind of thing to do. Yeah,
yard work, you know, there's just so many things that
you can do, like exercise, keeping your hands busy. Yeah,
for sure.
Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yeah, I listened a lot when.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
I'm Yeah, I mean, and you also brought up an
interesting point because I kind of look at it the
same way as like a museum tour, Like the first
time I actually paid, like on our honeymoon, we went
to Europe and we paid for like a docent tour.
You know, we had like someone that walked us through,
(30:22):
you know, a museum and actually talked to us about
the art. And I was like game changer, Like, you know,
I always thought just walking through on your own and
kind of reading the signs word enough to be like, Wow,
this is really beautiful. But then it just takes it
to a whole other level with someone who's like dedicated
so much of their life to this these works of
(30:42):
art and understanding them and knowing the historical context and
what was happening when it was being created, Like it
opens up things in a different way. So I think
it's very similar as like you're like, I could have
just watched the movie. I'm like, but not with that
level of detail like inside and behind the scenes and
what's happening.
Speaker 1 (31:00):
You know. Yeah, it's exactly right. People who have a
real expertise about something are very very interesting to me.
I really really appreciate that. I listened to a guy
named Andrew Hickey who has this podcast called The History
of Rock and five hundred Songs, and I'm on about
song one eighty something or and and some of those
(31:21):
episodes are two hours long where he's basically giving you
a rock in depth rock history, lesson on the song,
on the political structure at that time, on things of
a scientific name. I mean, it's just incredible the kind
of research that this guy does. Everybody who plays on it,
(31:44):
how they're connected, a lot of six degree stuff, anyway
it is I love I love I love experts. If
you have the means, I'm totally with you. I you know,
it's sometimes it can be expensive, but the but tour
guys are just the best when you're going too a
you know, some kind of a museum situation? Really or
(32:05):
I love that? Well? Should we move on to the
last one?
Speaker 2 (32:09):
Yeah? Do you want to read it?
Speaker 1 (32:11):
Okay? A documentary on Netflix called The Movies That Made
Us Dash Forrest Gump stated that Kevin was offered the
role of Lieutenant Dan Wait a minute, but turned it down?
Is that true? And if so, why did you turn
it down? You idiot? You could have been in Forrest Gump.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
Uh?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Okay, So first off, let me say the Movies that
Made Us Forrest Gump. I should watch this documentary. Sounds fun.
I guess they'd pick a bunch of different movies and then.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
That's what it seems like.
Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah. Yeah, I was offered the role of Lieutenant Dan
played by Gary Soonise. I believe that was Karen who
was also Actually there's an interesting connection. Gary Sinise and
Tom Hanks were in a Pall thirteen, So I don't
(33:07):
I don't remember if I turned it down. I don't
remember being offered it. I don't remember any of those things.
I'd have to check. Let me check my email. I
don't think there was an email. No, Yeah, I've like that. Yeah,
it was too painful, the fact that it came out.
It was like one of the biggest hits in history,
(33:28):
and you know, it was just too painful for me.
I have I have to try to forget it now.
You know, Uh, being offered things is a strange. It's
a strange process, you know, just a little bit of
behind the scenes movie stuff because the casting process. You know,
(33:51):
sometimes what happens is that someone will say, there's a movie.
Are you interested in this movie? They're interested in you,
would you like to read it. It's not really an offer.
It's a gauging interest that then has to slide into
(34:12):
the well, yeah I want to meet and talk about it,
or yeah I want to come in and audition if
that's what they're going to ask for, or you know,
whatever it happens to be. It doesn't always and so
in a lot of times, in people's minds, they go,
I was offered that, but you weren't quite offered that,
(34:34):
so maybe I was. I really have no memory of it.
Gary was amazing and I never I really try and
even when it comes to things that I didn't get,
like people have asked me before, you know, what were
(34:54):
you up for, like that you really wanted, like what
were those parts or you know, and I just in
order to survive, I have to just put them off
out of my head. I just kind of dump them
off the back of the hard drive and I really
literally forget that I was up for a movie or not.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, I am, obviously there's reason I was part of
the movies that made ESCU. He said it was such
an iconic movie. But it's like when you see a
role like that, like Lieutenant Dan, you're like, that could
have not been anyone but Gary soniz right when they
they land that role, and you just and it's like
(35:36):
that was like made for him. So it all happens
for a reason. And interesting saying I would.
Speaker 1 (35:41):
Have sucked in that part.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
But I'm not saying that, not totally. But it's one
of those things where you know, he then took this
role and I think he has like the Lieutenant Dan band.
Speaker 1 (35:58):
Oh yeah, that's right, he does, and.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
So like think about that, like he's taken this role.
It's not so much just been a role where he
played it and left it. It's like become this branding
thing that he now uses to help believe wounded warriors
and like soldiers and veterans, like that's kind of his platform.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
It is. Yeah, it is, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
And I just think that's really special too, Like totally,
it's totally he connected so deeply with that role, you know.
Speaker 1 (36:28):
Yeah. I don't think a lot of people have I
mean a lot of people have, you know, whatever foundations
and stuff like that, but that is a that that's
there's not a lot of people that have done have
gone directly into that that from an experience from apart
and really, you're right, it really is. It's it's pretty remarkable. Yeah,
(36:49):
check out the uh. I think if you could probably
google Lieutenant Dan Band, then there's probably links to some
of the wounded warrior stuff that that Gary's bob with
So that's definitely worth checking out.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
All right, So now we're going to end with our
last audio clip. So it's the last AKA on your
clip of this season, and we're super excited and this
one comes all the way from Holly from Canada.
Speaker 3 (37:17):
Hi, Kevin, My name is Holly from southwestern Ontario and Canada.
And my question is, what was your earliest experience with
any sort of charitable work and was it something you
participated in, something you witnessed, and what made it really
resonate with you enough to continue that sort of work
in your adult life.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
Wow, that's such an interesting question. Thank you for that,
Holly from Canada. Let me think about that. The first
experience with anything of a charitable nation nature. You know,
my mom was not only very involved with various charities,
(37:59):
but also uh you know, kind of an activist anti
war and civil rights. And I think that her her
uh just ethos sort of about that and about helping
people sort of found its way into me. I remember
(38:22):
once in philadelph Philadelphia where I grew up, going up
to uh Fairmount Park, and it was Earth Day and
I think it was one of the first Earth Days.
I don't remember where that was, it would have been
probably the early seventies, and there were things to do,
you know, kind of it was sort of about like
(38:42):
picking up trash and and you know, I don't know,
planting flowers or planting something like that, the trees, you know,
and I seem to remember that I got involved with
with that with that Earth Day many those many many
many years ago. And the truth is that I kind
(39:04):
of put that aside for a long time in my
life and really, you know, as I've said before on
the podcast, like gotten really so focused on just me
and my own career and my drive and my ambition
and all those things. And then you know, I started
(39:30):
to think about trying to figure out ways to give
back again. And I think, but I think that it
was definitely it was more than one one instance. I
think it was more kind of like the just my
mother's you know, point of view about the world that
really pushed me in that direction. What about you, Stacy,
do you have a one moment?
Speaker 2 (39:53):
I talked about this a few times, But I'm just
kind of a deep EmPATH. And so for me, I
was always finding these opportunities to like march or hold
a sign or volunteer in some type of way. And
I found that like every time I did something like that,
(40:18):
you know, served people, it it did something to my
kind of like happy eater, right like, it filled me
up in a way and created me created more fulfillment
in my life. So for me, it was you know,
I've talked about experiences growing up with a mom who
(40:40):
was legally blind, and you start looking at the world
a lot differently than I think some kids that don't
have that same experience. What does access look like? And
you know, what does it look like for people to
you know, move through the world in the same way equally.
So that sort of thing kind of I think shaped me.
(41:04):
But when I love so much and I just love
this question too, Holly, Like it's just the perfect final
question of our season year because at the end of
the day, we all will find whether it's early in
life later in life, we'll all find an opportunity to
really say, like, I'm inspired to act, and it doesn't
(41:29):
have to be something big or huge. And in fact,
I think people don't take an action to try to
serve or help or volunteer because they think that their
contribution is too small. Right, I don't have a lot
of money, or I don't have a lot of time,
or I don't have a lot of expertise. But in reality,
(41:51):
everything collectively is so meaningful. And I think that's like
the heart behind six degrees is this, you know, the
collective impact we can all make when we all do
something and it might feel like you're just doing something
in your corner of the world that won't impact over here,
but you never know who's watching whose life you're going
(42:13):
to impact by that small action or seemingly small action.
I should say, so, Yeah, I think that there is
a you know, a great opportunity to just start where
you are. And I hope that if people learn anything
from this show, it's that there are so many great
(42:34):
causes no matter what your passions are, that you know
need your help and support and your voice or your amplification.
So you can share about it, and you can talk
about it, and you can volunteer, you can financially support,
but there's just so many wonderful organizations that collectively we
(42:56):
can all help.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
And that is a great way to close out this season.
Thank you everybody, Thank you Stacy. Thank you Stacy for
all of the incredible work that you do with six
degrees dot org and for being my partner and for
helping doing such great work on this is this podcast
(43:17):
and uh, you know, it's been really fun on these
ask Kevin almost anythings to just hang out and chat
with you. And I also want to thank everybody that listened.
You know this. We're trying to We're trying to have
fun here and talk to you know, famous people that
(43:37):
you want to hear from, but we're also trying to
make you know, an impact and trying to make the
world a better place. And when you listen, that means
everything to us. It really is. You know, you're the
reason why why we're doing this, and I'm just trying
to do what i can with what I've got. Uh,
(43:58):
we've had great converse stations. Thank you for calling, thank
you for writing in. You know, it doesn't matter who
you are, where you started. As Stacy said, you can
do something to impact someone else in a positive way.
It all starts with us. We are connected. Six Degrees
of Kevin Bacon has very little to do with Kevin
(44:20):
Bacon and all to do with our connections. So thank
you so much for tuning in, and we'll see you
next time.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
If you are inspired by today's episode, please join us
in supporting SixDegrees dot org by texting the word Bacon
to seven zero seven zero seven zero. Your gift empowers
us to continue to produce programs that highlight the incredible
work of everyday heroes, well also enabling us to provide
essential resources to those that need it the most. Once again,
(44:53):
text b a con to seven zero seven zero seven zero,
or visit at six degrees dot org to learn more.
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