Bacon on eggs (yes, eggs), LA vs NY and Kyra

BACON. “You have to approach the idea of getting older as an opportunity rather than a burden.”
RUBEN V. NEPALES

LOS ANGELES—“I’ve lived my whole life with egg jokes,” said Kevin Bacon when we asked him if people tell him egg puns, since he recently became a spokesperson for the US egg industry. He appears in ads touting eggs. “If you grow up with the last name Bacon, the jokes start from the time you walk out of the house,” he added.

Kevin put down his sunglasses and coffee in a paper cup for this chat at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York. He stars in Warner Bros. Television’s “The Following,” where he plays Ryan Hardy, an FBI agent whose life unravels when Joe Carroll (James Purefoy), the notorious serial killer he put on death row, escapes. Hardy and his team hunt down Carroll, who had amassed a secret cult of killers. Now on its third season, “The Following” offers new twists and higher stakes.

Excerpts of our interview with Kevin, whose marriage to actress Kyra Sedgwick is one of the enduring unions in showbiz:

Is there a chance that we’ll see Kyra in “The Following”?

The problem with us working together is that we have such an association with the two of us being married that you don’t want to pull people out of the show. If it’s a comedy, it’s a lot more organic that it would happen. But, in a drama, I want people, while they’re watching “The Following,” to forget about Kevin Bacon. If Kyra Sedgwick shows up, that’s a wink-wink situation.

What I do want Kyra to do is direct. I’ve been pounding the table on that, because I know Kyra would be an excellent director. She’s so perceptive when it comes to performance. It’s hard for her to keep her mouth shut when she watches me act. Kyra always has something to say.

Made in heaven

You seem to have a marriage made in heaven.

Did you say, “Made in Kevin?” (Laughs)

What do you attribute your successful marriage to?

I wish I knew the answer to that. The only thing that comes up for me is that we truly enjoy each other’s company.

Do you agree on everything?

Oh my gosh, no. On the fundamental things, we agree. We’re open to each other’s opinions. My opinions about things have certainly been shaped, changed and molded by her. She would say the same thing about me.