Director Craig Brewer’s remake of the iconic ’80s musical “Footloose” opens Friday, October 14. The film is inspiring a great deal of nostalgia for the 1984 original, which transformed Kevin Bacon from comic character actor to teen magazine cover boy and introduced the world to Sarah Jessica Parker.
Twenty-seven years from now we will likely be asking what ever happened to Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough. Right now, though, let’s tackle the question: Where are they now — the stars of the original “Footloose”?
Kevin Bacon — Wren McCormick
Kevin Bacon parlayed his “Footloose” stardom into an excellent career as a leading man in the mid-to late ’80s before making the transition to a career as a respected character actor that has earned him critical praise in movies such as “Mystic River,” “Frost/Nixon,” and “Apollo 13.” More recently, Bacon starred as the bad guy in “X-Men: First Class” and in “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” where he came between Steve Carell and Julianne Moore.
Lori Singer — Ariel Moore
Lori Singer has cut a unique path as an actress and performer. Singer became a rising star on the TV series “Fame” before taking on the role of Ariel in “Footloose.” After “Footloose,” Singer could have chosen flashy starring roles but instead chose a challenging role opposite Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton in the drama “The Falcon and the Snowman.” She followed that with the light-hearted “The Man with One Red Shoe” with Tom Hanks but then chose the indie movie “Trouble in Mind,” which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
For a time, Singer stopped acting and while one might snarkily assume she wasn’t being offered anything, the fact is this actress is also an accomplished musician: a classically trained cellist. Singer took years away from her film and TV career to focus on music. She recently re-emerged on TV with a role on “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
John Lithgow — Reverend Shaw Moore
John Lithgow has always been an iconoclast, bounding from one unexpected role to the next. Prior to making “Footloose,” he earned back-to-back Academy Award nominations for “The World According to Garp,” in which he played a transvestite, and “Terms of Endearment.”
In his post-“Footloose” career, Lithgow played outsized villains in goofball movies like “Cliffhanger” and “Ricochet” before switching things up and earning Emmy Awards for his TV work on the broad alien comedy “3rd Rock from the Sun” and, most recently, on the disturbingly brilliant serial killer drama “Dexter.”
Lithgow is also a Broadway star, winning a Tony Award for his work in “The Sweet Smell of Success” in 2002, and a bestselling author of children’s books.
Sarah Jessica Parker — Rusty
Arguably the biggest star to emerge from the cast of “Footloose,” Sarah Jessica Parker struggled more than most following the film’s success. For 14 years after “Footloose,” Parker failed to find the right role. Finally, in 1998, she found it when she was cast as Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series “Sex and the City.” The HBO comedy ran for eight seasons and spawned a pair of hit movies.
While Parker’s non-“Sex and the City” ventures haven’t exactly been blockbusters — most recently “I Don’t Know How She Does It” was a significant bomb — she remains a sought-after leading lady.
Kenny Loggins — Soundtrack
Though he didn’t appear in person in “Footloose,” Kenny Loggins may have come out of the movie as the biggest star. The former Loggins & Messina singer became the king of soundtracks in the 1980s thanks to “Footloose,” “I’m Alright” from the “Caddyshack” soundtrack, and “Danger Zone” from “Top Gun.”
Most recently, Loggins has formed a country music trio called The Blue Sky Riders alongside Gary Burr and Georgia Middleman. He recently appeared in a send-up of his soundtrack success for the website FunnyorDie.com.
Heading to the movies? Get an instant mobile coupon to use at select theaters for free popcorn!
