h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Slightly older, more intellectual children might wish to take part in The Kevin Bacon Game. The theory is that every living actor in Hollywood can be linked to Kevin Bacon in just 5 steps - plus some of the dead ones too.

An example - Vivien Leigh.

Step 1: Vivien Leigh
Step 2: Marlon Brando - starred with Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
Step 3: Al Pacino - starred with Brando in The Godfather
Step 4: Robert De Niro - starred with Pacino in The Godfather Part II
Step 5: Kevin Bacon - starred with De Niro in Sleepers

Of course, this does require that you have something of an encyclopaedic knowledge of films. Like I said, for the intellectuals!

Congrats on making the piece.

Would you be interested in starting an on-line game?

I give you Kenneth Branagh.

I'll take that challenge.

Kenneth Branagh starred in "Wild Wild West" with Kevin Kline-->
Kevin Kline starred in "In and Out" with Matt Dillon-->
Matt Dillon was in "Wild Things" with Kevin Bacon.

I'm sure there are other solutions, but this was the first I could come up with.

Is there a separate Forum for the "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" game? If not, maybe there should be. I'd like to join into a game.

An even easier Kenneth Branagh!

Ken starred with Robert de Niro in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. De Niro was in Sleepers with Kevin Bacon.

Okay, here's a tougher one - Jackie Chan.

Jackie Chan was in Rush Hour with Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker was in the 5th element with Gary Oldman
Gary Oldman was in JFK with Kevin Bacon

Another variation I like is to link any two actors together, not necessarily with Kevin Bacon.

This is all very well; I have heard of the game before. The trouble is, who the hell is Kevin Bacon? I watch the odd film now and again (this from a man with about 500 videos) and I have no idea who he is.

Or is that the whole point and I'm being fick all over again

I think the point of using Kevin Bacon as the focus of this game is two-fold. For one thing, he's been in dozens of movies, which makes linking him to other actors easier. And for another thing, the game with his name sounds very similar to the phrase "Six Degrees of Separation.".... Sep'-a-Ra'-shun--Ke'-vin Ba'-con.... get it??

Another reason to choose Kevin is the wild variety of films he has been in. There are not many actors who have done both teenybopper 80’s flicks, like Footloose and critically acclaimed award winners like Murder in the First. That range make the game slightly easier than if played with actor who tends to stick with one end of the quality scale, say Anthony Hopkins or Pauly Shore.

In facy can anyone connect Anthony Hopkins to Pauly Shore?

Anthony Hopkins was in Mission Impossible 2 with Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise was in Born on the 4th of July with Stephen Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin was in Biodome with Pauly Shore

Hey, that is faster than mine:

Anthony Hopkins was in Silence of the Lambs with Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster was in contact with Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey was in Dazed and Confused with Joey Lauren Adams
Joey Lauren Adams was in Bio-Dome with Pauly Shore

In response to the 'try-anyone' idea: can anyone link Chow Yun Fat and Sir John Mills?

There's a challenge!

This was difficult. I must admit I had to look up who Sir Mills was, and that gave me the first step.

1. Sir Mills was in Kenneth Branugh's Hamlet.
2. Kenneth (we are on a first name basis) was in Theory of Flight with Helen Bonham Carter.
3. She was in Mighty Aphrodite with Mira Sorvino...
4. Who co-stared with Chow Yun Fat in the Replacement Killers.

What about Tim Roth to Meg Ryan?

Well done!

I'm working on the challenge...

Ok, there may be a shorter path, but here goes:

Tim Roth was in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction with Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi was in Con Air with Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage was in City of Angels with Meg Ryan

Alternately, Steve Buscemi was in The Hudsucker Proxy with Tim Robbins, Tim Robbins was in IQ and Top Gun with Meg Ryan.

What about linking Barbra Streisand to Cindy Crawford?

Okay, I'm not sure if this is allowed, but:

1. Streisand was in Nuts with Richard Dreyfuss.
2. Dreyfuss was in American Graffiti with Ron Howard. (here's the rough bit)
3. Howard directed Willam Baldwin in Backdraft.
4. Baldwin played a Fair Game with Cindy Crawford.

So are directors allowed or do I have to go back to the drawing board?

While we ponder directors...

Katherine Hepburn to Anthony Edwards

Hmm...I usually don't play with directors, but it does make the connection easier.

Actually, I finally thought of a connection without wandering into director-dom.

Steisand was in Hello Dolly with Walter Matheau.
Matheau was in IQ with Tim Robbins.
Robbins was in Hudsucker Proxy with Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Leigh was in Backdraft with William Baldwin.
Baldwin was in Fair Game with Cindy Crawford.

Odd...IQ and Hudsucker have already come up.

Katharine Hepburn was in Love Affair with Annette Bening
Annette Bening was in Postcards from the Edge with Dennis Quaid
Dennis Quaid was in Playing By Heart with Anthony Edwards

Hmmmm....what about Jack Nicholson to Judy Dench.