Movie buffs love to play 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, if only to show off our vast knowledge of cast lists and niche movies. And yes, if you don’t have time to dedicate to remembering all the casting details of just about every film that comes out, it can be a little unfair of a game to play. So, if you're gearing up for another holiday season of losing at 6 Degrees, maybe it's time to load the dice in your favor a little. And, before you ask, no, a little preparation is not the same as cheating, it's just evening the playing field. If you want to compete with the best, there are a handful of big movies that can help you on your quest to victory. Commit as many of these 11 notable movie casts to memory as you can and see how you’ll impress your family and friends this holiday season.

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Ocean’s Eleven

Julia Roberts and George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven
Image via Warner Bros.

Not only is the Ocean's Eleven cast large, but they’ve been in a wide variety of movies, so just this one cast alone will provide a lot of avenues to get to Mr. Bacon. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, not to mention Casey Affleck and Bernie Mac is a great list, especially when you consider that Matt Damon connects you to Ben Affleck (as they’ve appeared together on screen numerous times) which, in turn, adds pretty much every actor who’s appeared in a modern DC Universe movie.

JFK

Kevin Costner in JFK
Image via Warner Bros.

Another great film for making connections, you definitely want to have JFK in your arsenal — not only because Mr. Bacon makes an appearance on screen as Willie O'Keefe, but because there is a cornucopia of talent in this movie to help cut down on the number of steps you need to take in the game. Both Kevin Costner and Gary Oldman have extensive filmographies to utilize for this game, but the extended cast is absolutely invaluable, especially if your family and friends have any knowledge of film history and/or like to try and connect old Hollywood actors to our beloved Kevin Bacon.

The names I’m talking about are Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, and Ed Asner, who have been in films that should help you reach back into the nostalgia file and connect to some big old Hollywood names. And I don’t want to discount the usefulness of actors like Joe Pesci, Wayne Knight, Tommy Lee Jones, and Donald Sutherland, too.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

The cast of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Image via Warner Bros.

The biggest reason to add a Harry Potter title to the mix is that it provides a valuable link across the pond. While the kids may not pay off as valuable connectors for a little bit longer, huge stars like Emma Thompson, Dame Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Warwick Davis, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, and David Bradley could prove incredibly valuable links throughout the game.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is potentially the most helpful title because it is the only one of the Harry Potter movies to combine the efforts of Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, Imelda Staunton, and, well, Robert Pattinson, too. There are tons of ways these movies can be helpful to the cause, but largely because the cast is incredibly grand and includes a large number of very busy British actors. And, thanks to JFK, we know it's just a hop, skip, and a jump to Kevin Bacon from there.

Inception

Image via Warner Bros.

When it comes to modern, 30-something actors, Inception becomes a valuable stepping stone. In addition to Elliot Page, who has worked with some pretty big names in other movies like Juno, X-Men: First Class, and Super (the latter two of which star Bacon), you’ve got connections to Joseph Gordon Levitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Hardy. But there are a few more key contributors that could help your cause.

Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, and the late Pete Postlethwaite also appear in Inception, linking respectively to the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, the modern Godzilla movies, and a 36-year career full of great movies for other specific and important connections.

Saving Private Ryan

Tom Hanks as Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan
Image via DreamWorks

You can’t talk movies and important, large ensembles without including at least one Tom Hanks movie. Saving Private Ryan is a fantastic movie to use when playing 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon because, in addition to America’s dad, it also offers connections to actors like Dennis Farina, Ted Danson, Paul Giamatti, and Vin Diesel. This large ensemble cast works to connect actors that wouldn’t likely act together — in this instance, maybe Tom Hanks and Vin Diesel, due to them being active in genres that don’t always cross paths. Those paths to victory are invaluable tools in this game.

Black Panther

King T'Challa sitting on his throne in Black Panther.
Image via Marvel Studios

Just like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix does for British actors, Black Panther provides a who’s who of Black actors, and connects actors young and old into one hell of a fantastic cast. Linking the late Chadwick Boseman​​ with Forrest Whitaker, Sterling K. Brown, and Angela Bassett, as well as Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong'o, and Danai Gurira is such a great connection to have. These are all incredibly successful actors and have tons of links to help you win 6 Degrees.

Black Panther’s place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe also makes this movie prime for some other great acting connections. In addition to all the incredible actors named above, you can also capitalize on the wide expansive casts in other Marvel movies to create a web of interconnected actors that is vital to games like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Reservoir Dogs

The cast of Reservoir Dogs
Image via Miramax

Any movie genre has its key players, and by just shuffling a few actors around, new movies are born. This is definitely true of the gangster/mob movie world, so a large ensemble like Reservoir Dogs has a lot of possible connections. Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, as well as Lawrence Tierney and Quentin Tarantino all provide links to a number of similar films — as well as, thanks to Tarantino’s repeated cameos, his entire directorial filmography.

The Blues Brothers

The cast of The Blues Brothers
Image via Universal Pictures

While The Blues Brothers is synonymous with the late John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, it also offers a few very notable other actors who could prove vital options for any 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon player. Frank Oz, James Brown, Chaka Khan, Carrie Fisher, John Candy, and Cab Calloway are all interesting and notable performances here. And while some don’t have extensive filmographies, especially the musicians, their cameos over the years make them unusual, but very valuable stepping stones to Kevin Bacon’s large acting history.

New Year’s Eve

Zac Efron and Michelle Pfeiffer in New Year's Eve
Image via Warner Bros.

Yet again another massive ensemble, but this Gary Marshall anthology of small, interconnected stories offers a unique setting for very niche actors to factor into what can be a somewhat repetitive game. Sometimes it’s fun, even on your way to a win, to challenge yourself to not use a movie that has already been utilized numerous times by other people.

So taking the unorthodox path through New Year’s Eve, utilizing actors like Hector Elizondo, Hilary Swank, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Zac Efron, Halle Berry, Sarah Paulson, and tons more to make the leap from your starting actor to Kevin Bacon is tons more impressive.

Get Smart

Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell as Agent 99 and Agent 86 looking in the same direction in Get Smart
Image via Warner Bros.

The 2008 Get Smart movie is a great ensemble cast to know, not just because it’s got great movie connections, but it has a couple of great TV connections, too, in case your particular game of 6 Degrees decides to include TV show casts as fair game. Steve Carell is the obvious get here, as well as Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, Terrence Stamp, Bill Murray, Dwayne Johnson​​​​​​, and another good TV link, Terry Crews. Yet another movie that has a good variety of ages in addition to multiple genre links, Get Smart could provide the final, fabulous step you need to get you where you’re trying to go.

Contagion

Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, and Jennifer Ehle in Contagion
Image via Warner Bros.

The last movie on this list is none other than Contagion. While the large ensemble is definitely its greatest asset, the caliber of star is also of note here. There are some huge stars on this list that will go on to lead tons of other movies, leading us to connection after connection. Talent like Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sanaa Lathan, and Laurence Fishburne are all incredibly valuable actors to have a connection to while playing 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, because they all have such great bodies of work to their names, full of even more incredible actors.

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