FOOTLOOSE star Kevin Bacon chose to stay on the sidelines when it came to publicising Meg Ryan's IN THE CUT - because he didn't want to distract from the real stars.

Bacon - who plays a nutcase stalker in the JANE CAMPION-directed movie - has not been part of the film's publicity drive, because he has only three scenes.

He says, "It's a movie about Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo's characters. That's how it should be marketed. I have only three scenes. What if two were taken out and it's still billed as a Meg Ryan-Kevin Bacon film? I'd look like an a**hole."

30/10/2003 17:19