Kevin Bacon Shows Us His Cash

Kevin Bacon Shows Us His Cash

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

“We all have a different relationship with money,” Kevin Bacon told me on stage when I recently interviewed him at The Greene Space in New York. “It’s just as complex as death and sex.”

One thing I learned about Kevin Bacon’s relationship with money in our recent conversation: he likes to carry around a lot of cash. No wallet. A wad—folded up in his pocket. “It’s just a weird thing,” he said. “I don’t leave the house without it.”

I asked the actor about how he thinks about money differently after he and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, famously lost much of their savings in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. “It leaves you with a sick kind of feeling,” he said. “However, I think you have to live your life trying to avoid bitterness.” At the time, Kyra also had steady TV work, which Kevin says helped them get through their rough financial patch. 

Now, Kevin also has a leading role on a TV series: I Love Dick, Jill Soloway’s latest project. Kevin plays Dick—who is an intensely sexual character. We talked about how he approached the role and how he thinks about sex in his own life now that he’s almost 60. “Honestly I feel like it’s become in some ways even more important to me right now,” he told me. “I almost feel like I’m trying to cram as much of it in before it’s over for good.” 

Watch the video below for my full conversation with Kevin Bacon on stage at The Greene Space.