Theo Germaine performs alongside Kevin Bacon in the upcoming film "They/Them" — but Germaine's connection to Bacon goes way back to their teenage years.
Germaine, who stars in the new Peacock horror movie "They/Them" with Bacon, surprised their co-star on the 3rd hour of TODAY Thursday by sharing a story of how they once inhabited Bacon's famous "Footloose" character in a theater production.
Germaine, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, grew up in Murphysboro, Illinois, which they called "a small conservative town where we couldn't do a lot of kinds of theater."
However, during their junior year of high school, Germaine was part of a jukebox musical called "Back to the '80s." One of the figures they played was Bacon's defiant character with killer dance moves from "Footloose."
"It was the first time I got to play a male character onstage, and I got to do a dance with a whole bunch of boys to 'Footloose,'" Germaine said alongside Bacon and co-star Anna Chlumsky. "And it was the best part of the musical, and I was like, 'I’m like Kevin right now.'"
Now Bacon and Germaine are both part of "They/Them," a slasher film in which a group of LGBTQ characters have to fend off a mysterious killer at a gay conversion camp. Bacon, 64, plays the creepy leader of the camp.
Bacon said that he had no idea Germaine had a "Footloose" connection from his teen years, making him the latest spoke in the wheel of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Germaine confirms that filming "They/Them" has brought everything full circle.
Germaine also spoke about playing the lead role in "They/Them," which begins streaming Friday on Peacock.
"It felt really significant personally, but also for representation, and on a grander scheme, I hope it has a positive impact on audiences," Germaine said.
As for Bacon and "Footloose," the actor has no plans to bring back his legendary Ren McCormack character from the 1984 film, even in the current age of sequels that includes Tom Cruise's blockbuster sequel to another '80s classic, "Top Gun." The only character Bacon said he would reconsider playing is his handyman from the monster comedy “Tremors,” but he said a pilot for a television show was not picked up by any studios.