Boxing Kevin

Vanities

In The River Wild, Kevin Bacon, as a meanie terrorizing Meryl Streep's family rafting trip, performs even more white-water stunts than Hillary Clinton. But that was a day in the park next to the real-life prison drama Murder in the First, which re-creates all the horrors of Alcatraz (minus the Birdman). "When I was doing River," says Bacon, "we were wet, cold, my ass always itched under my wet suit, and every day we'd have to get in the boat and paddle as hard as we could. I thought, When I go to do Murder, it'll be easier." Wrong! "I was covered in dirt and bugs, with rats chewing on my leg. I was naked, wet, filthy, and shackled into a four-by-six cell." But, for Bacon, these films provided exciting acting challenges that well offset the physical demands. "That's what's really thrilling for me," he says. "That's my bungee jumping—throwing myself into a really good character."

MICHAEL MUSTO