Kevin Bacon has sentimental look back at his career: 'It was a great gift'

Kevin Bacon kicked off his storied acting career in the late 1970's, and after so many decades on screen, there are a lot of ups and downs to look back to and discuss.

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That is exactly what he did during a recent interview with Today Show's Willie Geist, where the two discussed the actor's past work and lengthy career.

Naturally, they focused on Kevin's iconic role in 1984's Footloose, and as he opened up about the film's ever-lasting prevalence even decades later, he grew emotional expressing just how much being a part of the Footloose movement meant to him.

WATCH: Kevin and Kyra's love story

MORE: Kevin Bacon shares never-before-seen home video of life with Kyra Sedgwick in latest heartfelt tribute

When asked by Willie how it felt that forty years later, his hit movie's relevance was still going strong, he firmly stated: "I love it."

He explained: "I think it's great. It's like all of those things that you think 'Oh, my gosh, is it ever going to go away?' At a certain point, you have to embrace the beast."

"I think that it was a great gift to be part of that movie," the father-of-two maintained.

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kevin-bacon-footloose-role-today-show

Kevin was 26 at the time of Footloose's premiere

Playing the small-town rebel that was Ren McCormack in the film was Kevin's ninth film credit, his first having been National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978, when he was 20-years-old.

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Recalling how committed he was to making it as an actor, and to the success of Footloose, he said: "I certainly took it very seriously when I was doing it and I love that people will still come up and say that they just showed it to their kids," proving that his determination certainly paid off.

Kevin and Kyra's epic Footloose challenge

Footloose continues to be a part of pop-culture to this day, even becoming a crucial element of a recent viral TikTok trend, which Kevin himself participated in alongside his wife, Kyra Sedgwick.

Set to the iconic song by Kenny Loggins, the trend sees one partner holding another horizontally, grabbing onto one hand and leg. Then, the partner unrolls the other toward the floor, catching them before they fall.

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