Kevin Bacon Hasn't Been to the Oscars in 40 Years: 'I Was the It Boy of the Year' When I Attended

Kevin Bacon has been a star for four decades, but he's only attended the Academy Awards once!

When Bacon, 65, spoke with Entertainment Tonight at the Los Angeles premiere of his new movie Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Thursday, June 20, the Footloose star noted he has not been to the annual ceremony since he presented an award at the 1984 Oscars.

"Crazy — I mean, crazy. I was thinking about how I've never been to the Oscars since 1984," Bacon said, after he was asked about what he remembers from that year, which also marked when the original Beverly Hills Cop came out.

"In 1984 I was invited to the Oscars to present because I was like the 'It Boy' of the year, right? So even being in Beverly Hills and sort of entering — I had done movies, but I was a New York guy. So Footloose was sort of the thing that entered me into the world of Hollywood, if you will. So it was a big year for me."

Bacon and Daryl Hannah stepped onto the stage together to present the award for Best Sound Effects Editing to The Right Stuff back at the 56th Oscars. While the actor has not returned to the Oscars since then, he has otherwise received awards at the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards over the course of more than four decades as an actor.

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Bacon and his new Beverly Hills Cop costar Eddie Murphy both broke out around the same time in the '80s, and Bacon recalled to ET that he "loved the [original Beverly Hills Cop when it came out" in 1984.

"I don't remember exactly where I saw it, it was probably in New York. I'm sure I paid money for my ticket and sat there with strangers in the dark with my popcorn and watched it," he said. "It's the greatest fish out of water franchise that there is, but the thing that people forget is you can't do that movie without Eddie. He's it."

The actor also added on the red carpet that both he and Murphy were surprised to realize they had never spent time together before filming the latest installment of the franchise.

"I can't imagine that we didn't, but I don't have a memory of it," he said, when asked if the two had ever crossed paths before. "We kind of talked about that fact - that was sort of, I don't know, just weird, not only that we haven't worked together, but that our paths have never crossed." 

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is on Netflix July 3. Bacon also stars in another film set to release that weekend in theaters with the slasher MaXXXine.