Kevin Bacon returned to the Utah high school where 1984 "Footloose" movie was filmed, 40 years after he first kicked off his Sunday shoes, to celebrate the school's final prom before it's moving to a new campus.
"Go Lions!" Bacon told a crowd of teenagers at Payson High School.
"Here we are on this beautiful, beautiful spot on this beautiful, beautiful day. It's been a long time — 40 years — that just blows my mind. Things look a little different around here. I'd say the thing that looks the most different is me," he quipped.
Payson students worked for months with the Utah Film Commission to get Bacon's attention. They created a social media campaign, recreated movie scenes and planned an event to benefit Bacon's SixDegrees.org
Bacon's foundation is "dedicated to creating dialogue, raising awareness, understanding, and empathy around causes that our communities care most about," according to its website. The actor worked with the students to assemble essential resource kits that the foundation will provide to schools and young people.
"Thank you so much for your commitment to giving back to your community and to the people you're sharing this planet with," Bacon told the students. "I'm thrilled we're going to be working here together today."
The actor also praised the teenagers for embodying the spirit of the original film, which stars Bacon as a Chicago teenager who transfers to a small-town high school where dancing is strictly forbidden.
"It's amazing the power that this movie has had to bring people together, and connect on the basic ideas behind the movie," he said.
"You know, standing up to authority sometimes, and to being forgiving to people who are not exactly the same as you, and for standing up for your own freedoms and your right to express yourself, and for having compassion for other people," he added.
