JFK
Oliver Stone's JFK
The Cast: In Their Own Words
Kevin Bacon
("Willie O'Keefe," inspired by Perry Russo)"JFK was one of those times that you can look at a specific point in your career and say things changed because of this. It was really like a benchmark kind of thing for me. When I became an actor I wanted to do edgy character parts. I wanted to do people from all walks of life. I looked at Meryl Streep and thought, 'That's an actor,' i.e., someone who could wear different hats and make it believable. The last thing I wanted to be was a pop star, and then, all of a sudden, I was.
"In the years between Footloose and JFK, I was spinning my wheels. You know, I was trying to do independent films and hope they'd break out, but nothing was really happening. And then came JFK. It took me four days to [do my part].
"When I was making it, did I think, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I'm playing this character?' Not at all. I had already done similar types of guys on stage. I already had played a male prostitute in a stage play called Forty Deuce that later became a feature film. But that movie completely changed things for me. . . . [The phone] just started ringing for different kinds of characters. It led directly to A Few Good Men and The River Wild and Murder in the First."(1)
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You may wish to see:
Who's Who in the Jim Garrison Case
Jim Garrison's New Orleans Photo Gallery
Articles and resources on the JFK assassination
1. Dave McCoy, "Talking with the 'Hollow Man.'"