DPCC celebrities and their Kevin Bacon connections
It’s that time of year again! Denver Pop Culture Con (the con formerly known as Denver Comic if you’re nasty) is literally just around the corner. Are you prepared to get your con on? Ready to mingle with like-minded geek crazies and rub shoulders with a few celebrities? You know you are!
It’s easy to regurgitate con ticket specifics, showcase a celebrity spotlight, and share the panel schedule in a traditional preview article. Here’s mine from 2017 when I last attended. This Bacon-centric preview (may Kevin Bacon one day grace DPCC with his Bacon-y goodness) is instead an attempt to do something a little different.
Without further ado, here are the Bacon numbers for 16 celebrities attending Denver Pop Culture Con in 2019.
1. Dave Bautista’s Bacon number is 2
Quill makes a quip about galactic hero Kevin Bacon in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, so it seems only fitting to begin there with our Bacon number list of DPCC celebrities. Dave Bautista as Drax is an important piece of the GOTG puzzle, and it’s a fun fact to know that his Bacon number is fairly low at 2.
Connection: Dave Bautista was in Guardians of the Galaxy with Michael Rooker. Rooker was in Super with Kevin Bacon.
2. Sean Gunn’s Bacon number is 1
It’s no big leap from Dave Bautista to Sean Gunn given their Guardians of the Galaxy connection. Gunn plays the adorably outspoken Ravager Kraglin in the Marvel movies, but he also famously does the motion capture work for Rocket Raccoon.
Gunn’s Bacon number of 1 earns him even more accolades.
Connection: Sean Gunn was in Super with Kevin Bacon.
Fun fact: Sean Gunn is director James Gunn’s brother. James directed the under-watched dark humor movie Super!
3. Ashley Johnson’s Bacon number is 2
If Ashley Johnson looks film familiar, it’s because she had a bit part in the first Avengers movie and was saved from Chitauri by Captain America. She’s also billed as part of this year’s Critical Role celebrity attendees at DPCC.
Connection: Ashley Johnson was in The Help with Emma Stone. Stone was in Crazy, Stupid Love with Kevin Bacon.
Bonus: Add a +1 to Bacon damage for other Critical Role celebrities attending DPCC!
4. Zachary Levi’s Bacon number is 2
Jumping to a recent DC star, but staying on the Marvel connection bandwagon, Zachary Levi makes the list with a Bacon number of 2. Levi’s turn as Shazam in DC’s Shazam! received plenty of praise, and rightly so. The actor also found success in past roles like Flynn Rider for Disney’s Tangled and Chuck Bartowski in the television show Chuck, but it’s through a Marvel movie connection that we find him so close to the Baconator himself.
Connection: Zachary Levi was in Thor: The Dark World with Ray Stevenson. Stevenson was in Jane Mansfield’s Car with Kevin Bacon.
5. Ming-Na Wen’s Bacon number is 1
Ming-Na Wen is one of only a few DPCC celebrity attendees with a likely-coveted Bacon number of 1! Wen’s comic con-appropriate claims to fame range from her titular voice acting role in Disney’s Mulan to her turns as Melinda May in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Chun-Li in Street Fighter, and Camile Wray in Stargate Universe. Take a deep dive into her IMDb page and you’re bound to find a few more roles and shows with cult followings.
Connection: Ming-Na Wen starred in The Darkness with Kevin Bacon.
6. Christopher Lloyd’s Bacon number is 2
Doc Brown, as you most likely know him, is coming to DPCC this year! Talk about a blast from the past…or future? You get it.
Christopher Lloyd probably can’t go anywhere without a Back to the Future nod and an enthusiastic “great Scott!” thrown his way, and it’s his BTTF connection that ties him to Kevin Bacon.
Connection: Christopher Lloyd was in Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox. Fox was in The Magic 7 with Kevin Bacon.
7. Tom Wilson’s Bacon number is 2
Copy and paste Christopher Lloyd’s Bacon number credentials for Tom Wilson’s connection.
Tom Wilson, like Lloyd, likely gets the most recognition for his work in the Back the the Future movies, but his role as the coming-to-terms-with-the-youth P.E. teacher in Freaks and Geeks proved the actor had dramatic range.
Connection: Tom Wilson was in Back to the Future with Michael J. Fox. Fox was in The Magic 7 with Kevin Bacon.
8. Cary Elwes’s Bacon number is 2
“As you wish,” is hopefully what Cary Elwes said when he was asked to come to Denver Pop Culture Con 2019. Let’s just imagine he uses his famous phrase from The Princess Bride at every possible opportunity.
Elwes is another good example (like Tom Wilson) known for his one-liners and comedic timing early in his career but who later delved deeper into more dramatic and experimental roles. The first Saw movie comes to mind.
Connection: Cary Elwes was in The Princess Bride with Christopher Guest. Guest was in A Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon.
9. George Takei’s Bacon number is 1
George Takei needs no introduction to the con crowd, and his role in Star Trek as Lt. Sulu will forever etch his name in nerd/geek/pop culture history. You’d expect some actors and actresses to have prominant Bacon number connections, but Takei isn’t one of them. Strangely enough, he’s one of only three celebrities on the list with a Bacon number of 1!
Connection: George Takei was in the movie 8 with Kevin Bacon.
10. Jewel Staite’s Bacon number is 2
Kaylee and her strawberries (and so much more from Firefly) cemented Jewel Staite as a witty, intelligent, affable character pop culture and sci-fi television fans can connect with. I’d put my money on seeing at least one Kaylee cosplayer at DPCC this year, if I were a betting man.
Connection: Jewel Staite was in the television show Firefly with Nathan Fillion. Fillion was in Super with Kevin Bacon.
11. Summer Glau’s Bacon number is 2
Rinse and repeat the Jewel Staite connection formula and you get the same Bacon number for Summer Glau. Glau earned her geek stars with her role in Firefly like Staite, but she also continued having fun with genre television and movies. There was probably even a time when she was recognized as a badass terminator from The Sarah Connor Chronicles more than for her role as River Tam in Firefly.
Want to see Glau go full geek in the best of ways? Check out the under-seen movie Knights of Badassdom (also starring Peter Dinklage).
Connection: Summer Glau was in Firefly with Nathan Fillion. Fillion was in Super with Kevin Bacon.
12. Matthew Lewis’s Bacon number is 2
Matthew Lewis if famous for his role as Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films, so it’s no surprise he finds a warm welcome at this year’s DPCC. What is surprising is the actor’s Bacon number of 2! In fact, he’s got a couple 2-tier connections to El Baconero.
Connection: Matthew Lewis was in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 with Rade Serbedzija (Gregorovitch). Serbedzija starred in X-Men: First Class with Kevin Bacon. Lewis was also in Deathly Hallows: Part 2 with Gary Oldman, and Oldman was in JFK with Bacon.
13. Patrick Warburton’s Bacon number is 2
Famous for his role as The Tick in The Tick as well as his now-iconic vocal performance as Kronk in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove, Patrick Warburton needs no introduction once you hear him speak. Warburton’s voice is easily up there with greats like James Early Jones and Morgan Freeman in some circles.
Warburton’s deadpan delivery is almost as instantly recognizable as his voice, and when I say you know what you’re going to get when he’s involved in a project, it’s definitely a compliment.
Connection: Patrick Warburton was in Movie 43 with Emma Stone. Stone was in Crazy, Stupid Love with Kevin Bacon.
14. Catherine Tate’s Bacon number is 2
Who’s more pop culture iconic and likable/grating: Catherine Tate as Nellie Bertrum in The Office or Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in Doctor Who? Unfair question? They’re both perfect in their own way, you say? That’s fair.
Tate isn’t the first Doctor Who icon to visit Denver for the con, and she’ll likely not be the last.
Connection: Catherine Tate was in Starter for 10 with James McAvoy. McAvoy was in X-Men: First Class with Kevin Bacon.
15. Michael Rosenbaum’s Bacon number is 2
Bald and too intelligent are the least of Lex Luthor’s worries in the Smallville/Superman universe, right? Michael Rosenbaum took up the mantle as one of Superman’s most troublesome foes in the early 2000s, and he’s since starred alongside top-tier talent in a spectrum of different comedic, dramatic, and animated projects. Rosenbaum directed his first feature film (Back in the Day) in 2014.
Fun fact: Rosenbaum is good friends with Napoleon Dynamite actor Jon Heder. He and Heder quoted lines from the movie and had a good time poking fun at each other at Denver Comic Con 2017.
Connection: Michael Rosenbaum was in Sorority Boys with Mark Metcalf. Metcalf was in National Lampoon’s Animal House with Kevin Bacon.
16. Tara Strong’s Bacon number is 2
Voice actors count? Of course voice actors and connections count! Tara Strong is a staple in the quirky-and-smart cartoon/animated arena. Her IMBd page is unbelievable (in a good way), and she’s currently credited with 564 roles across television, film, and video games!
Connection: Tara Strong was in The Hunchback of Notre Dame II with Tom Hulce. Hulce was in National Lampoon’s Animal House with Kevin Bacon.
May the Bacon Connections Continue
Midroad Movie Review will be in and out during the weekend covering Denver Pop Culture Con 2019. Check out the site’s Instagram page for daily cosplay photos and con panel coverage! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Kevin Bacon might make a surprise appearance (it could happen!), but DPCC promises to be an awesome time regardless.
Did I miss any celebrity attendees whose Bacon number makes you curious? Anyone on the list surprise you? Who can you see making the Bacon number 1 connection in the future? Here’s hoping Bacon mania is never-ending.
Have fun and stay safe at Denver Pop Culture Con this year!