10 Genius Ways Directors Got The Actor They Wanted

While it may seem somewhat insane to imagine a world where folks wouldn't take one look at the thrusting hips of a young Kevin Bacon and see an abundance of dollar signs in their immediate future, one rather important person in particular wasn't actually convinced the future Hollywood superstar was the youngster for the job heading into 1984's Footloose.

But with director Herbert Ross and many others behind the flick feeling that Bacon was the only guy for the part of Ren McCormack, they decided to dump the talented performer into a screen test depicting him trying on a number of outfits to the sound of a rock soundtrack. This was all in a bid to convince Paramount executive Dawn Steel that Bacon was indeed, contrary to what she believed, "f***able".

Sure enough, Steel quickly changed her opinion upon seeing the hip-shaking star strut his stuff in the rather expensive and elaborate screen test, with Bacon going on to become something of a pop culture icon thanks to his chosen set of moves and a frankly barmy $1,500 haircut.