Wormald dances his way to lead ‘Footloose’
Actor Kenny Wormald attends the Cinema Society premiere of "Footloose" on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer)
In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Kenny Wormald, left, and Julianne Hough are shown in a scene from "Footloose." (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, K.C. Bailey)
In this image released by Paramount Pictures, Kenny Wormald is shown in a scene from "Footloose." (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures, K.C. Bailey)
FRESNO, Calif. — Kenny Wormald started competitive dancing at the age of 6 — something that made him the target of teasing on the playground. A few years later, the Boston native discovered how cool it was to dance.
“I was 10 when I saw ‘Footloose,’ and I can remember being blown away. Kevin Bacon looked so cool and masculine and that gave me the motivation to keep dancing,” Wormald says.
He went on to win several dance titles, including the Master Dance of New England, Junior Mr. Dance of New England, Teen Dancer of Boston and Teen Mr. Dance of New England.
Now, Wormald looks to inspire other young dancers. He’s taken over the role of Ren McCormack in the updated version of “Footloose.” He gets to show off his moves alone and with dancing whiz Julianne Hough in this tale of a small southern town that has banned dancing.
Wormald, 27, has had small roles in TV and film projects but this is his first starring role. He was concerned that he was cast only for his dancing skills, but director Craig Brewer assured him that he was selected to play Ren because of his dancing AND acting abilities.
Wormald, who worked with an acting coach, discovered that acting can be just as physically draining as dancing. He was totally spent after filming the big courthouse confrontation scene where he delivers a lengthy monologue.
Wormald and Hough found an instant chemistry on the dance floor. Because Hough is relatively new to acting too, the pair worked extra hard on that part of the job by studying old movies.
“I knew Julianne was a great dancer, but I never realized how much she dominates the screen,” Wormald says. “Everyone knows her for ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ and it’s wonderful they will now get to see how great an actress she is.”
He hopes the scene in which the pair share a kiss against a beautiful sunset will be an award winner. Wormald couldn’t understand why the crew was rushing to set up the shot. But once he saw it on film, he understood. It’s the kind of smooch that he’s convinced could win “Best Kiss” honors at the “MTV Movie Awards.”
As part of his preparation, Wormald watched the original “Footloose” again. He was happy to see that while there were some scenes taken directly from the first movie, the new version features many original moments.
He did have a Kevin Bacon moment.
“It was when I put on that red jacket to go to the dance,” Wormald says. “And Julianne’s wearing a dress similar to the one Lori Singer wore. Everyone on the set loved it because it was so nostalgic. The other big moment was when I shout ‘Let’s dance,’ which could have been corny. But I think it works.”