THE TRUTH ABOUT PAMELA ANDERSON AND ME
THE ACTOR ON HIS TIME ON THE HOT SHOW AND HIS HOPES FOR A RED-SHORTS REVIVAL
During its 12-year run, Baywatch offered viewers a winning combination of sun, sand and sexy, scantily clad lifeguards – a combination that, perhaps unsurprisingly, left pulses racing and transformed it into one of the most-watched shows in the world.
One of those red shorts-wearing lifeguards was David Chokachi, whose character, Cody Madison, became the envy of every heterosexual male on earth after getting it on with both Carmen Electra and Pamela Anderson during his stint on the TV blockbuster.
“My friends would call me and would be like, ‘Holy s--t, dude! You’re making out with Pamela Anderson!’,” a laughing David, 52, tells New Idea. “They just couldn’t believe that this was my world.”
Fresh out of college, David got the mother of all big breaks when he signed on to the ratings juggernaut in 1995 to take the role of buff, blonde Cody, who would become the romantic interest of Pamela Anderson’s character, C. J. Parker.
“They hooked my character up with Pamela, which was super fun!” he says, smiling. “We just had great chemistry and we had a blast together because I didn’t want anything from her, whereas so many other people did.
“I think that’s why our relationship worked so well. It was like, ‘this is super cool but I’m not looking to date you’.”
David’s introduction during the sixth season catapulted him to stardom, with his enviable looks earning him countless fans and a spot on People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People round-up. But after four years in the limelight, David decided to call time on Cody. Leaving in 1999, he then took the lead role on TV series Witchblade, before switching gears and focusing on his personal life.
David married wife, Susan,
“WE JUST HAD GREAT CHEMISTRY AND WE HAD A BLAST TOGETHER”
in 2004, and they welcomed daughter, Brit Madison, seven years later. Since then, fatherhood has kept the actor very busy.
“My wife has a big job at
Gucci,” he explains. “And she has to commute to New York from LA, so I play mum and dad until the weekend when she comes home.”
Being dad to his 8-year-old has also helped put the notoriously up and down world of acting into perspective.
“All of a sudden it shifts,” he agrees. “Before she was born, I was obsessive about having this career. Now, she’s the most important thing in my life. The business has to come second.
“Plus, being an actor in today’s world, it’s tough,” he says. “There are huge dry spells and you question what you’re doing. Then something comes along and you believe again.”
This “something” is David’s latest movie, crime thriller Emerald Run.
“I really identified with the struggles my character was going through,” he explains of his motive for taking the lead. “To see this guy go through these things and have … almost like epiphanies. It becomes a lesson in having faith.”
Also on David’s horizon is the new Baywatch documentary that’s set to air this year.
Exploring the cultural impact of the long-running show, filming brought many of the cast together for a reunion.
“It was a really fun, great experience,” says David.
“I had a blast. It was great to re-establish our friendships again.”
The doco is timely given the 30th anniversary of the ratings hit in September last year and, given the current climate of reboot mania, David is hoping the powers-that-be will turn their attention to a Baywatch reboot.
“I’m hoping that those red shorts might come back on for sure,” he says. “I feel like the show could really blow up again if we have another run.”
While two decades have passed, David is in no doubt he’d still be able to lifeguard with the best of them.
“I’m still in as good shape,” he says. “Maybe a little leaner now. So, it would be fun to go back and shoot some more ocean rescues.”
But what would life look like for Cody two decades on? Turns out, David has it all mapped out.
“One of my ideas was that Cody’s been in Australia for the past
20 years living on the beach and surfing, and that he has a child there.
“I love Australia, so getting to shoot there would be amazing – that’s my dream!”