KEVIN BACON FINE TO DIRECT WIFE’S LOVE SCENES

Usually when husbands and wives are lovers on screen there is zero chemistry but when Kevin Bacon directs his wife Kyra Sedgwick in the film Loverboy he says it helps that they share that strong sense of intimacy between them.

Directing his wife in love scenes with co-stars Matt Dillon and Campbell Scott proved to be more difficult for the guys than for Kyra and Kevin.

“Well I think you have a short hand in terms of communication that’s good. A lot about being a director is to be able to give your actors the feeling that they are safe and to build a kind of trust with your actors. That’s something that we’ve been working on a long time so we’re one step ahead of the game in terms of that.”

In fact Kyra says she found it comforting to have her hubby director Kevin orchestrating the choreography for the love scenes.

“I think that if anything the guys on the set were less comfortable than Kyra was because I’m standing there and they were like, ‘you really want me to do that?’ I think they were sort of hesitant at first but we’ve both been in those situations as actors. I look at love scenes both as an actor and as a director as just another element to the storytelling. I think that if you separate them off and make them into something different than the dinner scene or the chase scene or the argument scene they then become like their own little movie. I think it’s important to keep them true to both the storytelling and to the character.”

Some of the other actors in the film doing their best work under the direction of Kevin Bacon include Oliver Platt, Marisa Tomei, Sandra Bullock and Blair Brown. Loverboy opens tomorrow in select cities.

“You’d think it would be weird but for some reason it wasn’t because it was about being the character and doing it for the film. It never felt strange. Maybe we’re weird that way but we’re very clear about what we do and the line of separation between acting and real life. It’s just very clear you know. I feel really safe with him as a husband and as a friend but also as a director. He’s amazing. I totally trust him to get what he needs and if he’s not getting what he needs to tell me and to create a really safe space for everyone to do their best work.”