The Kevin Bacon Factor
The Oracle of Bacon and Finding an Actor’s Bacon Number
Kevin Bacon is the centre of the Hollywood Universe in this fun application of mathematical networking theory used to calculate degrees of separation between actors.
The Kevin Bacon Factor
In 1994, around the same time that actor Kevin Bacon commented in an interview that he had worked with everyone in Hollywood or someone who had worked with them, the Kevin Bacon Factor surfaced on the internet.
The theory follows the premise that because of his diverse acting background, it is possible to link Kevin Bacon with any other actor in a small number of steps. It is based on a similar premise to the Six Degrees of Separation theory, which argues that every person on the planet is an average of six relationship (family, friendship, work associate etc) steps away from any other person.
Kevin Bacon himself has a Bacon number of 0. Any actor who has appeared with Bacon in a movie has a Bacon number of 1. Any actor who has appeared with one of these actors (but not with Bacon himself) has a number of 2. For example, Elvis Presley has a Bacon number of 2 (Elvis was in Harum Scarum (1965) with Suzanne Covington, Covington was in Beauty Shop (2005) with Bacon).
The Oracle of Bacon
The University of Virginia has an Oracle of Bacon that calculates the Bacon number for any actor. The actor’s name is entered into the link box and their Bacon number will be given, listing the connecting actors and movies. It is also possible to see a list of the 1000 best options for consideration as ‘the centre of the Hollywood universe’ in 2004. This list would be constantly changing, of course, as new movies are released. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Bacon himself is not included in this ‘most connected’ list of actors.
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon
According to Wikipedia, the game ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’ was created in early 1994 by three students - Craig Fass, Brian Turtle, and Mike Ginelli. Apparently the three were watching Footloose followed by the film Quicksilver during a heavy snow storm. They began to speculate on how many movies Bacon had appeared in and how many people he had worked with. Humble beginnings for what is now a popular pop culture trivia game.
Kevin Bacon himself has referred to the Bacon factor in appearances on sitcoms and advertisements. He has even established a charitable organization named Sixdegrees where people can provide links to their favourite charities and donate to the favourite charities of others, including celebrities. The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game has inspired a book by the originators as well as a board game. A photography book using the same concept was also published and there have been numerous references in pop culture programs.
For maths boffins and celebrity enthusiasts alike, the Kevin Bacon Factor can be an entertaining way to fill a few spare moments and challenge a friend’s movie trivia knowledge.
