Christopher Atkins almost played the part of Ren McCormack in 1984’s Footloose before the role went to Kevin Bacon.
Christopher Atkins says drinking cost him the lead role in Footloose, which ultimately went to Kevin Bacon.
The 65-year-old actor claimed he was the film bosses’ favourite to play Ren McCormack in the 1984 musical-dance movie, but they decided to “pass on” Christopher because he had been boozing the night before their first meeting.
During a recent Q+A session at the Fanboy Expo Knoxville in Tennessee, which ran from July 10 until July 12, Christopher remembered: “I was a mess back then. I was partying it up way too much, and they called me in.
“I said, ‘I can’t go in right now. I’ve been drinking and carrying on.’ And they said, ‘No, they need to see you.’
“And I went in, and I just blew that audition … I mean, it wasn’t even an audition – I had the part, but I was so messed up that they said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to have to pass on this guy.'”
He added: “And I’m almost 40 years sober, so there you go.”
Also during the Q+A panel, Christopher said he never planned to become an actor before landing the role of Richard Lestrange in the 1980 romance-adventure The Blue Lagoon.
The entertainer explained: “I’d never done anything before. Never wanted to be an actor – only wanted to play baseball. That was my dream.
“I ended up modelling for Ford modelling agency in New York City and auditioned for The Blue Lagoon … And I kept getting called back and called back and called back.
“And then [after] a couple months, I didn’t hear from them … And then all of a sudden I got another call back.”
At the time, Christopher – who starred opposite Brooke Shields, 61, in The Blue Lagoon – was clueless about the acting profession.
He said: “I didn’t know what a camera looked like. I had no idea what a mark was, and I knew nothing. And I had to jump on an airplane and fly all the way to Fiji.”
Christopher’s “whole life changed” with the success of The Blue Lagoon, which became the ninth-highest-grossing film of 1980, earning $58.8 million on a $4.5 million budget.
He recalled: “We were young, and so you’re constantly getting this notoriety.
“And the magazines need you to sell their magazines, and you’re hot at that time. And so it does get overwhelming … There are times where you’re doing interviews, and you have a line of people, and you have to say the same thing to each person because they have the same question.”
Christopher added: “But it changes your life, because all of a sudden you’re nothing and then you’re on every single grocery store magazine.”
Christopher Atkins says drinking made him lose out on lead role in Footloose
