Original ‘Footloose’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Original ‘Footloose’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

From iconic dance sequences to its catchy soundtrack, the original Footloose remains one of the most memorable films from the ‘80s. Released in 1984, Footloose follows Kevin Bacon’s Ren McCormack, a Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing has been banned by the local minister, Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow). In his efforts to challenge the dance ban so the high school can hold a senior prom, Ren ends up falling in love with the Reverend’s daughter Ariel (Lori Singer). To celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, Bacon made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2014, embodying the same rebellious attitude as his character when Fallon announced to the audience that “dancing has been outlawed here on The Tonight Show.” Bacon went on to recreate the movie’s infamous warehouse dance scene, starting in his dressing room and gradually making his way to Fallon on stage. Another decade later, Singer reflected on shooting the movie while celebrating its 40th anniversary. “I believed in what I was doing, whether standing between a train, jumping between a car and a truck, or getting into a fight with a boyfriend played by the stunning Jim Youngs. The atmosphere on the set felt real,” Singer told Forbes in February 2024. “The fact that would transcend to an audience who would feel what we felt was astounding to me.” Bacon took his own trip down memory lane two months later and visited the campus where Footloose was filmed — right in time for the students’ prom. “It’s been a long time — 40 years — that just blows my mind, you know. Things look a little different around here. I’d say the thing that looks the most different is me,” Bacon said when he took the stage on the football field in April 2024. Footloose spawned a 1998 Broadway adaptation and a 2011 remake of the same name starring Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough and Miles Teller. Keep scrolling to see where the OG cast is now:

Credit: MovieStillsDB

Original ‘Footloose’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

From iconic dance sequences to its catchy soundtrack, the original Footloose remains one of the most memorable films from the ‘80s. Released in 1984, Footloose follows Kevin Bacon’s Ren McCormack, a Chicago teen who moves to a small town where dancing has been banned by the local minister, Reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow). In his efforts to challenge the dance ban so the high school can hold a senior prom, Ren ends up falling in love with the Reverend’s daughter Ariel (Lori Singer). To celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, Bacon made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in March 2014, embodying the same rebellious attitude as his character when Fallon announced to the audience that “dancing has been outlawed here on The Tonight Show.” Bacon went on to recreate the movie’s infamous warehouse dance scene, starting in his dressing room and gradually making his way to Fallon on stage. Another decade later, Singer reflected on shooting the movie while celebrating its 40th anniversary. “I believed in what I was doing, whether standing between a train, jumping between a car and a truck, or getting into a fight with a boyfriend played by the stunning Jim Youngs. The atmosphere on the set felt real,” Singer told Forbes in February 2024. “The fact that would transcend to an audience who would feel what we felt was astounding to me.” Bacon took his own trip down memory lane two months later and visited the campus where Footloose was filmed — right in time for the students’ prom. “It’s been a long time — 40 years — that just blows my mind, you know. Things look a little different around here. I’d say the thing that looks the most different is me,” Bacon said when he took the stage on the football field in April 2024. Footloose spawned a 1998 Broadway adaptation and a 2011 remake of the same name starring Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough and Miles Teller. Keep scrolling to see where the OG cast is now:

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Kevin Bacon

The actor had already made his film debut in 1978’s National Lampoon’s Animal House and starred in 1980’s Friday the 13th before playing Ren McCormack. Following Footloose, Bacon landed roles in JFK (1991), Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and Patriots Day (2016). His portrayal of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl in HBO’s Taking Chance (2009) earned him a Golden Globe Award in 2010. Bacon also starred on Fox’s The Following from 2013 to 2015 and on Showtime’s City on the Hill from 2019 to 2022. 

Bacon made his directorial debut in 1996 with the television film Losing Chase, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or TV Film. He also directed and starred in 2005’s Loverboy alongside his wife, Kyra Sedgewick, and their children, Travis and Sosie. (The couple tied the knot in 1988, welcoming their children in 1989 and 1992.)

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Lori Singer

Born to a family of musicians, Singer was a musical prodigy and graduated from the Juilliard School before shifting her focus to acting in the ‘80s. Singer was cast as Julie Miller in the television series Fame before starring in Footloose, later appearing in The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), Warlock (1989) and Short Cuts (1993). 

Singer was an executive producer of the 2013 documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God. The documentary was nominated for six Emmy Awards, winning three, and earned a Peabody Award in 2014. Singer went on to narrate the 2017 documentary God Knows Where I Am. 

Singer married lawyer Richard David Emery in 1980, but the two divorced in 1996. Singer dated fellow actor Alec Baldwin from 2006 to 2010.

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John Lithgow

Lithgow won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in the 1973 Broadway production of The Changing Room. He was later nominated for his onstage roles in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988) and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005), winning his second Tony for Sweet Smell of Success (2002). 

Lithgow appeared on TV in 3rd Rock from the Sun from 1996 to 2001 — for which he won three Emmy Awards — and The Crown from 2016 to 2019. He also starred on HBO’s Perry Mason (2020) and FX’s The Old Man (2022). 

Lithgow married Jean Taynton in 1966. The twosome welcomed son Ian in 1972 but split in 1980 following Lithgow’s affair with actress Liv Ullmann. In 1982, Lithgow tied the knot with Mary Yeager. They welcomed daughter Phoebe and son Nathan in 1982 and 1983, respectively.

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Dianne Wiest

Wiest previously joined Lithgow in Beyond Therapy (1982) before the costars reunited in Footloose. 

Following her portrayal of Vi Moore, the reverend’s wife, Wiest went on to win Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for 1986’s Hannah and Her Sisters and 1994’s Bullets Over Broadway, also earning a Golden Globe for the latter. She starred in Edward Scissorhands (1990) alongside Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, Practical Magic (1998) with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, The Mule (2018) with Clint Eastwood and Let Them All Talk (2020) with Meryl Streep. Wiest also appeared on the television series Law & Order from 2000 to 2002 and on CBS’ Life in Pieces from 2015 to 2019.

Wiest dated her talent agent Sam Cohn for three years in the mid-1980s. She adopted daughters Emily and Lily, who were born in 1987 and 1998, respectively. 

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Chris Penn

Following his turn as Ren’s friend Willard in Footloose, Penn went on to play the villain in Clint Eastwood’s western film Pale Rider (1985) and starred alongside his brother Sean Penn and mother Eileen Ryan in At Close Range (1986). He also appeared in Reservoir Dogs (1992), Corky Romano (2001) and Murder by Numbers (2002). 

Chris was found dead in his Santa Monica apartment in January 2006 at the age of 40, with an autopsy revealing heart disease as the primary cause of death. 

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Sarah Jessica Parker

Best known for playing Carrie Bradshaw on Sex and the City, Parker’s performance as Rusty in Footloose was one of her first major film roles. She starred on SATC from 1998 to 2004, earning two Emmy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards for her performance. She reprised the role in the 2008 and 2010 films, returning for the revival series And Just Like That, which premiered in 2021.

In 2005, the actress founded the production company Pretty Matches with Alison Benson, creating content for HBO and other channels. She produced and starred on the series Divorce from 2016 to 2019 and in the 2018 film Here and Now.

Parker previously dated Robert Downey Jr. and the late John F. Kennedy Jr. In 1997, she married actor Matthew Broderick. The twosome welcomed son James in 2002 and twin daughters Marion and Tabitha via surrogacy in 2009. 

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John Laughlin

After starring as Woody in Footloose, Laughlin broke into the horror scene, appearing in Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes Part II (1985), The Lawnmower Man (1992) and Gacy (2003). He also made television appearances on Criminal Minds in 2010, NCIS in 2017 and I Am the Night in 2019.

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Elizabeth Gorcey

The same year Gorcey portrayed Footloose’s Wendy Jo, she landed the lead role as June Cessna in the movie Kidco. Gorcey went on to star in Teen Wolf (1985) and Iced (1989), later lending her voice to The Improbable Journey of Berta Benz (2012). 

Gorcey produced and directed the 2012 documentary Adopting Ginny, as well as the award-winning 2013 documentary Just Another Man’s Story. Outside of film, she published the children’s book series Liv on Life, inspired by her daughter Olivia.

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Frances Lee McCain

Before Ethel McCormack in Footloose, McCain held lead roles in Apple’s Way from 1974 to 1975 and in Real Life in 1979.  She starred in Gremlins (1984) as Lynn Peltzer and went on to appear in Scream (1996) and Patch Adams (1998).

During the ‘90s and early 2000’s, McCain served as faculty at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. She earned a master’s degree in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in 2000 and became an Associate Artist with ZSpace Studio in 2004.

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Jim Youngs

After Footloose, in which he played Chuck, Youngs went on to star in Nobody’s Fool (1986) and Skeeter (1993), later appearing on the television series Babylon 5 and NYPD Blue. 

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Lynne Mart

Marta was a regular on the variety program The Lloyd Thaxton Show and the anthology series Love, American Style before portraying Lulu in Footloose. She transitioned to television with appearances on ER, Law & Order, Charlie’s Angels and The Rookies. The late actress also starred on soap operas Passions, The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives.

Marta married fellow actor Brick Huston in 1968, but the two divorced in 1976. She was romantically linked to costar David Soul throughout their time on Starsky and Hutch, but the pair split after the show ended in 1979. Marta died in January 2024 at the age of 78 following a cancer battle. 

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Timothy Scott

Scott got his start in film and television westerns such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Macon County Line (1974) and The Electric Horseman (1979) before appearing as Andy Beamis in Footloose. He portrayed Pea Eye Parker in the miniseries Lonesome Dove and its sequel, Return to Lonesome Dove. He also appeared in Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) with Kathy Bates and Mary Stuart Masterson and Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life (1992). 

Scott was married to Donna Leigh Scott and was the father of sons Scott Harmon and Dean Swope and stepdaughter Marisa. He died in 1995 at the age of 57 due to lung cancer.