Kevin Bacon donned "mask" to fool fans

Kevin Bacon has told 'The Observer' newspaper that  he had a prosthetic disguise made "because I wanted to see what it would be like not to be recognised".

Ironically he felt lonely and unnoticed. "I didn't like it very much – no one was nice to me. People didn't bother me, but they also looked right through me.''

Actors want to be famous, he insists. "That's what drives us. Don't believe people who say: 'Well, you know, he's an actor, but he's actually really super-shy.' Nonsense."

He also talked about after suffering the loss of his life savings at the hands of disgraced investor Bernard Madoff (Bacon and his wife Kyra Sedgwick were among the many victims of the $50 billion Ponzi scheme).

"My family survived losing money to Bernie Madoff incredibly well compared to others," he revealed. "We looked at each other and said: "Well, we're still healthy, we still have each other. Let's roll up our sleeves and get the f*** back to work."

In a 30-year film career, Bacon, 54, takes his first-ever TV lead as a dysfunctional FBI on the trail of a gang of serial killers in 'The Following'.

Billed as part soap opera, part horror show and part police story, 'The Following', which co-stars British actor James Purefoy, is the brainchild of Kevin Wiliamson, the man behind 'Dawson's Creek' and the 'Scream' films.

'The Following' begins on Sky Atlantic on 22 January