Editing Kevin Bacon (section)

=== 1980s ===
In 1980, he appeared in the slasher film [[Friday the 13th (1980 film)|''Friday the 13th'']].<ref>{{cite web|title=Happy Halloween: Stars who got their start in horror flicks|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/happy-halloween-superstars-start-horror-flick-gallery-1.98345|publisher=nydailynews.com|access-date=October 12, 2014}}</ref> Some of his early-stage work included ''[[Getting Out]]'', performed at New York's [[Phoenix Theater]], and ''[[Flux]]'', at [[Second Stage Theatre]] during their 1981–1982 season.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|title=Kevin Bacon|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/profiles/kevin-bacon%C2%A0/|publisher=pbs.org|access-date=October 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530033240/http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/profiles/kevin-bacon%c2%a0/ |archive-date=May 30, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1982, he won an [[Obie Award]] for his role in ''[[Forty Deuce]]'',<ref name="kevin">{{cite magazine|title=Kevin Bacon biography|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kevin-bacon/bio/160550|magazine=TV Guide|access-date=October 12, 2014}}</ref> and soon afterward he made his Broadway debut in ''[[Slab Boys]]'', with then-unknowns [[Sean Penn]] and [[Val Kilmer]]. However, it was not until he portrayed Timothy Fenwick that same year in [[Barry Levinson]]'s film ''[[Diner (1982 film)|Diner]]''{{spaced ndash}}costarring [[Steve Guttenberg]], [[Daniel Stern (actor)|Daniel Stern]], [[Mickey Rourke]], [[Tim Daly]], and [[Ellen Barkin]]{{spaced ndash}}that he made an indelible impression on film critics and moviegoers alike.<ref>{{cite web|title=Diner' 30th Anniversary: 25 Things You Didn't Know About The Guys-and-Fries Classic|url=http://news.moviefone.com/2012/03/02/diner-30th-anniversary/|publisher=moviefone|access-date=October 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021030336/http://news.moviefone.com/2012/03/02/diner-30th-anniversary/|archive-date=October 21, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Bolstered by the attention garnered by his performance in ''Diner'', Bacon starred in ''[[Footloose (1984 film)|Footloose]]'' (1984).<ref name="bio"/> Richard Corliss of ''TIME'' likened ''Footloose'' to the [[James Dean]] classic ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]'' and the old [[Mickey Rooney]]/[[Judy Garland]] musicals, commenting that the film includes "motifs on book burning, mid-life crisis, AWOL parents, fatal car crashes, drug enforcement, and Bible Belt vigilantism."<ref name="time84">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950019,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080830035710/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,950019,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 30, 2008|title=Revel Without a Cause|author=Richard Corliss|magazine=TIME|date=February 20, 1984}}</ref> To prepare for the role, Bacon enrolled at a high school as a transfer student named "Ren McCormick" and studied teenagers before leaving in the middle of the day.<ref name="bacon"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Kevin Bacon Got Bullied By High Schoolers While Prepping For 'Footloose'|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/25/kevin-bacon-footloose_n_5710413.html|access-date=October 10, 2014|publisher=huffington post}}</ref> Bacon earned strong reviews for ''Footloose''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/522:492/1/Kevin_Bacon.htm |title=Kevin Bacon |publisher=Biography Channel |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109152125/http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/522%3A492/1/Kevin_Bacon.htm |archive-date=January 9, 2009 }}</ref>
Bacon's critical and box office success led to a period of [[typecasting (acting)|typecasting]] in roles similar to the two he portrayed in ''Diner'' and ''Footloose'', and he had difficulty shaking this on-screen image. For the next several years he chose films that cast him against either type and experienced, by his own estimation, a career slump.

After a cameo in [[John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes]]'s 1987 comedy ''[[Planes, Trains and Automobiles]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cormier |first1=Roger |title=15 Moving Facts About 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71594/14-moving-facts-about-planes-trains-and-automobiles |access-date=December 9, 2022 |work=Mental Floss |date=November 22, 2017}}</ref> Bacon starred in John Hughes's 1988 comedy ''[[She's Having a Baby]]'',<ref name="bio"/> and the following year he was in another comedy called ''[[The Big Picture (1989 film)|The Big Picture]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Second Wind Is Blowing For Kevin Bacon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/25/movies/a-second-wind-is-blowing-for-kevin-bacon.html|work=new york times|access-date=October 12, 2014|date=September 25, 1994}}</ref>