Kevin Bacon Recalls Living in a 'Flophouse' Apartment on a $150 a Month Budget in 1976

The actor shared his experience of moving to the Big Apple during a recent talk show appearance

Kevin Bacon's time in New York City began with a $150-a-month apartment budget.

"I don't know how I got the math on that, but that's what I had decided," Bacon, 65, said during a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. of his experience moving to the Big Apple in 1976. "So I saw an ad on the back of the Village Voice, and it said 'Artists, actors, musicians residence,' and I thought, 'Well, that sounds good.'"

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The Pennsylvania native said he sought out the apartment after sleeping on his sister's couch for four months while he got acquainted with the city. "It was basically a flophouse," he continued. "I guess there were some artists there, but not a lot."

Bacon said he was forced to live with a roommate he met at the rental office after being told there were no single-room apartments. "We lived together for four years," explained Bacon. "In fact, I just had lunch with him the other day."

The Leave the World Behind star said his roommate was a classical pianist who worked nights at the Copacabana and that it was "really cool" to hear him play at home.

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Kelly Clarkson shared her own experience of moving in with someone she didn't know, adding that everyone in the entertainment industry has had a "crazy" living experience at one point or another.

"You really got to want your dream," she added, to which Bacon agreed by replying that "you got to have the hunger."

The Footloose actor recently opened up to PEOPLE about his love of spending time at home in the kitchen with his wife, Kyra Sedgwick.

"We really switch off. We love to cook, and we love to eat," he told PEOPLE. "Cooking and eating together is something that we've always done as a family. His and Sedgwick's passion has also been carried on to their daughter Sosie, 31, and son Travis, 34.

"We never gave them lessons," he explained. "We never sat down and said, 'Okay, this is how you cook.' But just in the course of life, they've ended up making great, great dishes, and they both really enjoy it."

The Six Degrees with Kevin Bacon podcast host told PEOPLE that he loves being in the kitchen to have "control" over what he puts in his body.

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"I feel like if you're always eating out or you're always getting something to go, then you're always giving your power over to the people that are going to prepare the food for you. I can't do that my whole life," he said.

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