#You Should Have Left Director Tried to Scare Kevin Bacon for Real, But It Backfired

Kevin Bacon has a long and storied movie career, and he has worked in every genre of films imaginable. Particularly when it comes to horror, the actor has been a part of such standouts as Friday the 13th, Tremors, and Hollow Man. David Koepp is directing Bacon in their new horror-thriller You Should Have Left. The two have worked together previously on Stir Of Echoes, where Koepp recalls trying to scare the actor into giving an authentic performance, which just ended up annoying him.

“I [intentionally scared Kevin Bacon] on the last movie we did together, which was about 20 years ago. I needed to startle him, and I got a starter’s pistol, and I fired it when he wasn’t looking and I got a far worse reaction. It just kind of pissed him off, and he said, ‘I don’t need that.’ So, I didn’t do that. I knew better than to do that this time.”

Look, a guy who has been killed on-set by Jason Voorhees’s mom, almost swallowed whole by giant underground worms, and plummeted down the elevator shaft to his doom while invisible is not going to get jumpy from a starter pistol shot. After that David Koepp realized Bacon’s talent and imagination could be safely relied upon to give his performance what was needed without any extreme external aid.

“He’s obviously such an accomplished actor, and everything is very carefully calibrated. And he’s also keeping in mind where he’s going. So, you know, you have a scared face, but you better come to the scary movie with, you know, 17 scary faces, scared faces, otherwise you’re gonna be doing the same thing the whole time. And because our movie becomes kind of a Rubik’s Cube of how many times have I gone through this door, and which part of the thing is this? So we really almost had to keep a flow chart of where he’s at in levels of freaked-outedness.”

For Bacon, being a part of a horror film again is a welcome treat and a reminder of the innovation that goes into crafting a movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

“That’s part of making these kinds of movies, is things are slimy, and gross, and uncomfortable, and you’re in situations where, I mean, that’s part of the fun. I’m one of those people that I’ve seen so many different things happen, and been in so many different situations on movie sets, but I am not jaded about the magic of the smoke and mirrors. I still really love it. I love to watch how we’re all gonna get together and figure out something that’s in the script, and how to actually physically do it. You know, it was always kinda great. And to see the different jobs that people on crews have, in the way that they problem-solve is something that I really admire.”

This news was originally reported at ComicBook.com.

Topics: You Should Have Left