‘Baywatch’ Producers Dish Dirt On Behind The Scenes Feuds

As the new feature film reboot of Baywatch nears completion, the producers of the original 1989 Baywatch series are opening up about the experiences in creating the show for television.

Along with the standard dramas that come with producing any television drama, the Baywatch producers reveal that rivalry and personal concerns created an even greater challenge to getting Baywatch produced on time each week.

Whether it was concern over casting a young Leonardo DiCaprio as the son of David Hasselhoff’s Mitch Buchannon or Baywatch stars resisting the hiring of Pamela Anderson for fear of being upstaged, there seemed to be more drama behind the scenes than there was in each Baywatch episode.

Baywatch Star David Hasselhoff Took An Active Part In Casting Co-Stars

Whether it was casting Leonardo DiCaprio as his sun or bringing in Playboy model Pamela Anderson to play the part of C.J. Parker, David Hasselhoff had much to say, according to producers Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz. The former Baywatch showrunners told The Hollywood Reporter that Hasselhoff opposed both casting decisions and, although the Baywatch actor cited different reasons for not wanting either DiCaprio or Anderson, Schwartz suggests that it all boiled down to Hasselhoff fearing a blow to his ego.

In casting for the role of Mitch Buchannon’s son on Baywatch, the producers say they had all but cast Leonardo DiCaprio, who was 15 years old at the time, but David was vehemently opposed to the decision and let the Baywatch showrunners know just how he felt. He told the Baywatch producers that he felt a 15 year old boy was far too old to be Mitch’s son and that they needed to find a much younger actor. Hasselhoff was concerned that DiCaprio would make him look too old.

Michael Berk says DiCaprio was let go as a choice, due to that meeting, and 9-year-old Jeremy Jackson was cast in the role.

David Hasselhoff And Nicole Eggert Both Felt Upstaged By Pamela Anderson

Pamela Anderson was brought in on Baywatch‘s second season and the actress and model would quickly become a staple of the show, but, throughout her stay on Baywatch, Pamela faced opposition from fellow cast members David Hasselhoff and Nicole Eggert. As soon as Hasselhoff got wind that the Baywatch producers intended to cast Anderson as C.J. Parker, the actor again attempted to nix the casting idea, according to International Business Times. He opposed the casting of Anderson on the basis of her having posed nude in Playboy, which he felt was inappropriate for a series that attracted younger viewers, but Schwartz says David had other concerns in opposing Pamela’s casting.

“She had these enormous breasts,” the Baywatch producer says, “and David thought he would be upstaged by everyone looking at her breasts. Which is what happened.”

The producers resisted and brought Ms. Anderson on board anyway and it seemed that hurtle had been tackled, until rivalry between Anderson and co-star Nicole Eggert leaked into the Baywatch episodes. Up until Anderson’s casting, Nicole had been the center of attention, as far as the female characters were concerned, but the Baywatch producers reveal that Pamela’s much curvier measurements threatened to change that, stirring Eggert’s jealousy and creating a bitter rivalry between the two Baywatch stars.

Nicole put up with the status quo for a few seasons, but, when the cast reunited for season 7, Eggert showed up with a surprise for Anderson and for the Baywatch showrunners: she had undergone breast enhancement surgery.

“I had already shot scenes with her with small breasts,” Schwartz recalls. “She came in and was wearing a jacket. I said, ‘Nicole, you can’t wear that. We already shot part of that scene before and you don’t have a jacket on, remember?’ She wanted to wear that jacket and I couldn’t figure out why. And then finally, when she took off the jacket, she had these giant double Ds. I didn’t know what to do. I had to put things in front of her and hide her for the rest of the episode.”

As it turned out, casting Pamela Anderson was a big boost for Baywatch‘s ratings. David Hasselhoff’s fears that the actress would upstage him were realized, a situation multiplied when the Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee sex tape was leaked to the public.

“The ratings doubled,” says Schwartz. “That was a big thing for Baywatch.”

The Baywatch reboot is set to hit theaters on May 19, 2017.

[Image by NBC]