Kevin Bacon Admits He Sometimes Has Trouble Sleeping While Shooting Horror Projects: 'Catches Up with You' (Exclusive)

Kevin Bacon is undoubtedly a Scream King (even if he doesn't claim the title), but even he gets affected by the horror genre.

Opening up to PEOPLE about his newly-released Prime Video series, The Bondsman, Bacon addresses whether or not he ever has trouble sleeping when working on horror films and shows.

"It's interesting. A lot of times, no. And then every once in a while, if you've just been living in a certain headspace, it'll start to take its toll on you," Bacon, 66, admits. "It's funny you say that because last night my dreams were starting to get pretty intense and scary, and every once in a while it just catches up with you."

However, Bacon notes, "I'm pretty good at trying to leave my work at the office, but what the guy is going through always has to stay there in the back of your mind. Because you're thinking, 'What am I shooting tomorrow?' Okay, we're going to get this and then I'm going to be confronting the demon  again.'"

"It's like that's always got to be turning in your head," he continues. "But I will say that when you see people scared in movies, let's be honest. They're acting. Let's not take away from the fact that there's a lot of performance that has to happen to make something feel and look scary. I'm not scared to be on this set."

Horror has long been a part of Bacon's acting credits, dating back to 1980 when he starred as Jack in Friday the 13th. He can also count Flatliners, Hollow Man, MaXXXine and They/Them among his many horror projects.

Yet, funnily enough, Bacon declares, "I don't think of myself as a Scream King." 

"I like doing horror and some of the horror movies, Friday the 13th, I was in the first one, so that became sort of iconic. Tremors had an iconic vibe to it, which is just luck of the draw," he explains. "But I go back to horror, and the reason I do is because a lot of times, it affords you great things to play. Because life or death, those things are scary. Life or death is always interesting. For a challenge, for an actor, and that's what you're always in the middle of in horror. ... It just gives you some great stuff to play." 

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Now, he's starring in The Bondsman. The series sees Bacon playing a bounty hunter who comes back from the dead, only to find that his role now comes with a demonic twist.

For Bacon, working on the Prime Video offering has "been a lot of fun," he says.

"I think we've got a great cast, great crew," he adds. "For me, it's a great combination of strong,  strong character work, with also being able to just do fun, physical kind of things. Scary and blood and action. But the foundation, the backbone of the show, is really family."

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The Bondsman season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.