AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Christopher Atkins says drinking cost him the lead in 'Footloose' before Kevin Bacon got the part
Christopher Atkins, the former teen heartthrob who starred in 1980's "The Blue Lagoon," told a convention audience that heavy drinking destroyed his shot at the lead role in "Footloose", a part that launched Kevin Bacon into stardom. Atkins, now 65 and nearly four decades sober, laid out the story at a panel appearance at Fanboy […] The post Christopher Atkins says drinking cost him the lead in 'Footloose' before Kevin Bacon got the part appeared first on American Almanac .
Christopher Atkins, the former teen heartthrob who starred in 1980's "The Blue Lagoon," told a convention audience that heavy drinking destroyed his shot at the lead role in "Footloose", a part that launched Kevin Bacon into stardom. Atkins, now 65 and nearly four decades sober, laid out the story at a panel appearance at Fanboy Expo Knoxville in Tennessee. He didn't blame Hollywood politics or bad luck. He blamed himself, and the bottle. The actor told the crowd he had effectively been offered the role of Ren McCormack in the 1984 classic before Bacon ever entered the picture. But when filmmakers called him in for what should have been a formality, Atkins was in no shape to show up. Atkins had the part, until he walked in impaired …Open