Axel Foley is back in Beverly Hills. Eddie Murphy is set to reprise his iconic role in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and he’s bringing some old friends along. Judge Reinhold’s Billy Rosewood and John Ashton’s John Taggart will reunite with Murphy on screen. One of the new additions to the cast is Kevin Bacon who is set to play the bad guy – Captain Grant. In an exclusive interview with Filmfare, the Footloose star opened up about unleashing his villainous side in the action comedy franchise.

Kevin Bacon has a way of making any film better just by being in it. Opening up about playing Grant, the actor shared, “I like playing bad guys. But I don’t like playing them just because they’re bad. I like playing them if they’re interesting. I found a hook with this character. He resented that he’d spent his life as a cop and hadn’t been able to cash in on that.”

He added, “He had been wounded and didn’t get any real acknowledgement about that. He was not wealthy, but he lives and works in this place where he was surrounded by huge wealth. That his wife and his kids have left him. You know what I mean? There’s a lot of stuff that he’s sort of angry about. So that’s the thing that I focused on. You put that underneath the surface and add a smile on top and that’s who he is.” 

In Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Grant and Foley clash in several instances including an exposition-heavy chase sequence. Talking about the experience of working with Eddie Murphy, he said, “It was fantastic. I’ve always admired Eddie. There’s nobody like him. It’s like bucket list stuff, you know, to get to work with that level of a movie star who’s been around for so many years. He has delivered one funny bit after another. To get into a scene with him is great.”

“Of course, when you work with somebody that is that iconic, and I have done movies with stars like Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep who are great actors that I admire. The second that you actually get there, you roll up your sleeves and all of that baggage that you’ve brought about who they are just has to go away. The job is to get the scene done. Eddie’s super professional, very relaxed, loose and it was great to work with him,” he added.

Bacon had earlier mentioned that he isn’t keen on a Footloose sequel. When asked why he thinks that wouldn’t work while a new Beverly Hills Cop movie stays relevant, he explained, “First off, it’s really about are you interested to see who that character is many years hence? And I think Footloose was an excellent movie. You got the story of that man. But do you really want to see him, as in me, now? Do you really? I don’t know (laughs). I have a hard time seeing where that story would go. He’s come back to another town where they’re burning books or something? It’s just it’s not there. It was like a one-off to me.”

“Now, Axel Foley, on the other hand, is clearly a timeless character. So while I can’t really put my finger on what the difference is there. But to me there’s a big difference,” he concluded.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F will be released on July 3, 2024.