Kevin Bacon Tried and Failed to Get a Role in This Iconic Movie Sequel

Kevin Bacon may not be seen in the upcoming This Is Spinal Tap sequel — but it’s not for a lack of trying on his part.

“I wanted to play one of the exploding drummers in the new Spinal Tap, basically, but I didn’t have [director Rob Reiner’s] number,” Bacon, 66, revealed during the Friday, April 4 edition of The View.

Bacon has history with the Spinal Tap II: The End Continues filmmaker, as Reiner directed him in the Oscar-nominated 1992 legal drama A Few Good Men. The pair’s previous working relationship led Bacon to think he could play the next in a long-line of doomed Spinal Tap drummers.

During Bacon’s appearance on The View, Bacon confirmed that he wasn’t able to convince Reiner to let him join Spinal Tap for their upcoming movie.

“Somebody called him for me, and I didn’t get the part,” he confirmed. “Spinal Tap, I’m so excited about part two, and the original it was a running joke that they just had drummers that would disappear.”

The View cohosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin humorously encouraged Bacon to never give up on his dream of joining the comedy rock group.

“Yeah, [I could be in] part three,” Bacon declared.

One of the recurring gags in 1984 mockumentary revolved around the rockers — played by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer — frequently auditioning new drummers because their predecessors all disappeared under unusual circumstances.

Ed Begley Jr. portrayed Spinal Tap’s original drummer John “Stumpy” Pepys, though the character only briefly appears in the movie because of his death in a mysterious gardening accident. Stumpy’s death set off a chain reaction where later drummers suffered a variety of odd deaths, including band members spontaneously combusting, falling into a shark tank or being eaten by a snake.

Given the deadly reputation of the job, it’s no surprise Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood once jokingly auditioned for Spinal Tap while wearing a fire-proof suit.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues reunites Reiner with Guest, McKean and Shearer 41 years after the release of their comedy classic. Reiner reprises his role as opportunistic documentarian Marty Di Bergi, while Guest, McKean and Shearer are back as Tap members Nigel Tufnel, David St. Hubbins and Derek Smalls, respectively.

This time around, Spinal Tap are reuniting for one final concert with the help of music industry titans such as Elton John, Garth Brooks and Questlove. Fans can also expect callbacks to memorable characters from the original, as Fran Drescher and Paul Shaffer are returning as Spinal Tap’s publicist Bobbi Flekman and the inept promoter Artie Fufkin.

The 1984 Reiner-directed rockumentary provided early exposure for several notable stars, as Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey and Anjelica Huston all made cameo appearances.

This Is Spinal Tap gained cult classic status following its release and was selected by the Library of Congress to join the National Film Registry in 2002. The movie also ranked 29th on the American Film Institute’s AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs list in 2000.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will hit cinemas on September 12.