Kevin Bacon shows up at Utah high school where 'Footloose' was filmed on movie's 40th anniversary

SALT LAKE CITY (KTVX) – Kevin Bacon on Friday paid a visit to a high school in Payson, Utah — a school where, 40 years ago, he filmed the 1984 movie "Footloose."

"Go Lions! Here we are on this beautiful, beautiful spot on this beautiful, beautiful day," Bacon said in footage of a speech he gave to the student body at Payson High School.

"It’s been a long time, 40 years. That just blows my mind, you know," he added. "Things look a little different around here. I’d say the thing that looks the most different is me."

"Footloose," which starred Bacon as a teen who moves from Chicago to a small town, was shot on location at Payson High and the nearby and Roller Mills in Lehi. For several months now, Payson High's student body has been working with the Utah Film Commission to lure the actor back to the school, with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox even joining the cause.

Bacon, answering the call, returned on Friday, ahead of the high school's prom night.

"When I first heard about this Bacon to Payson thing, I was like ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ But you were all just tireless. Unrelenting. … You talked me into it," Bacon said. "I think it’s great to see that kind of commitment to anything. I also think that it’s amazing the power that this movie has had to just kind of bring people together, and connect on the basic ideas there are behind the movie — 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."

As part of the effort to bring Bacon back to Utah, students have offered to help support the actor's foundation, SixDegrees.org. The foundation is aiming to create 40,000 "essential resource kits" for youth and schools. Payson students have pledged to create 5,000 of those kits today as a thank-you for Bacon's return.

Bacon praised the student body for turning "what could be just a movie star coming back to get a pat on the back" into "something really positive," he said during his speech.

"And that’s what we’re going to do today when we build these kits," Bacon said. "Thank you so much for your commitment to giving back to your community and to the people you’re sharing this planet with, and I’m thrilled we’re going to be working here together today."

Bacon was also presented with his own directors' chair — complete with his name — while the "Footloose" them by Kenny Loggins blared over the speakers.

Bacon, in response, sat back in his chair while his toes started tapping along.

Nexstar's KTVX also captured the whole speech on film, which viewers can watch at the station's website.

Bacon's visit to Utah comes during the Utah Film Commission's 100th anniversary. According to a press release, a 2023 survey indicated that 37% of visitors cite film and/or television as one of the motivators in selecting Utah as a destination. Over the last 10 years, the film commission said those visitors have spent an estimated $6 billion in the state.