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Lori Singer Reflects On Starring In Footloose 4 Decades Ago, Says 'I Really Felt Like Ariel'
From heart-pounding stunts to daring escapades, Lori Singer took a nostalgic trip down memory lane, recounting her unforgettable experiences on the set of 'Footloose.'
Lori Singer took a trip down memory lane as he recalled starring as a lead in Footloose, the cult favorite dance musical that was released in 1984.
The film turned 40 this year, in which Singer played the character named Ariel, the rebellious daughter of John Lithgow’s Reverend Shaw Moore, a conservative man so bonded to the Bible that he turns Utah into a No Dance Zone. This, however, lasts only until Ren McCormack, played by Kevin Bacon, rolls into town with the deranged mission of liberating the town from the clutches of the Reverend.
Speaking fondly of her camaraderie with her co-star in the film, Lori Singer told The Daily Beast, “Every moment was magic from the get-go. The second we said hello and shook hands, it was almost electric. We felt a real excitement between our characters, and from that moment on, it was like a wild ride.”
What else did Singer have to say about her time shooting the iconic film? Find out below!
A character close to her real life — Ariel and Lori were almost identical
Speaking to The Daily Beast, Lori Singer revealed that playing the daughter of a larger-than-life patriarch was nothing new for her, as it was something she could relate to on an intimate level. Lori, the daughter of acclaimed conductor Jacques Singer, drew comparisons between being the real-life daughter of a prominent figure and playing an almost similar character in the film, saying, “I was under a lot of scrutiny growing up, and I was kind of wild. I really felt like Ariel. My father was a conductor of orchestras, so we were very much in the spotlight. [His job] was like being the reverend of the town.” 
Stuntmen and Body Doubles took a backseat on the set of Footloose
In her conversation with the publication, Lori Singer, 66, also recalled performing major life-threatening stunts herself including Footloose’s ironing train dodging sequence.
“I did every stunt myself, like when we were doing the scene with the train. I was very wild,” Singer said
She stated that it was a real train, "a high locomotive." Singer added that she had choreographed what she was going to do and showed the same to the director and the stuntman. She revealed that the stuntman grabbed her hand and pinched it. She recalled, "He said, ‘Don't say one more word.’ I’d just given them something wild, and it was now going to be up to him to make sure I was safe doing it.”
While filming the scene, Singer recalled the stuntman telling her to jump out of the way when the train hit a pre-decided mark, but she, being her wild self, decided the exact opposite. “Evidently, I thought I could stay there longer, and the stuntman had to fly across the rails and knock me out of the way, the way Kevin actually does in the movie,” Singer disclosed.
In another iconic film scene, Singer dangled out of the moving cars. “I risked my life by doing that scene with actors driving. I was trusting my fellow actors while I was out there doing that. We shot that scene on the very last day, in case I died. It was very serious.”
Moving on, Singer also revealed how she was actually slapped by Lithgow for one of the scenes.
“During the breakfast scene, he actually slapped me. That was a full-on slap. My face had his handprint on it,” she said.
Skinny Dipping in a Motel Pool and a close encounter with the police
In the same conversation with The Daily Beast, Lori Singer recalled how a post-work party led to a bit of skinny-dipping in a motel pool and a close call with the cops. “Everyone took off their clothes. I did, and I know Chris Penn did,” Singer recalled. “We had to climb over a chain link fence to get into the pool. We were laughing and yelling, and somebody called the police. We had to get out of there as fast as we could and get back to our rooms before the police came.”
Needless to say, all the on- and off-screen antics that went down on the sets of Footloose definitely played a role in making it one of the most cherished musical dramas of all time.
Footloose can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV.
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