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EVERYONE that watched the first Guardians of the Galaxy film has fond memories from it, especially Peter Quill/Star Lord’s (played by Chris Pratt) out-of-nowhere name drop of Kevin Bacon and his film Footloose that occurs several times in the film.
Those scenes, crystalised in pop culture, was also a fond memory for Bacon himself, because as it turns out, the actor had watched the Marvel film during its opening weekend in 2014.
Bacon – who had previously worked with director James Gunn on the 2010 film, Super – wanted to see what Gunn would do with the crazy comic book franchise.
He said: “There I was, all alone in the theatre, and all of a sudden they’re talking about me. So you can imagine, that’s a pretty out-of-body experience. It’s one thing if it was a drama or a regular comedy, but they’re in a whole ’nother universe, a whole ’nother world.”
Now, Bacon himself is part of the Guardians universe, as he plays a fictional version of himself in the upcoming The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
The 44-minute Disney+ instalment will see Guardians Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and Drax (Dave Bautista) desperate to cheer up Peter, who is still reeling from the death of Gamora in the previous film. So, for Christmas, the duo trek to Hollywood to bring Peter one of his favourite things in the world – legendary actor Kevin Bacon.
Bacon said of his self-deprecating supporting role: “It’s not like I go into this thinking, ‘Oh, I’m playing myself. Therefore this has to stay very, very authentic to who I am.’ It’s kind of the opposite. It’s an idea what movie star life is. And that to me is kind of funny, and silly.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special can be viewed on Disney+.
