September 12, 2002
DAVID HASSELHOFF has dealt with his alcohol problem and is out of rehab and feeling better than ever. ET caught up with TV's most famous lifeguard for a chat about his time in the Betty Ford center, and the brand-new "Baywatch" TV movie. Watch ET tonight for more!
ET: So, David, how difficult it was to get everybody back together for the "Baywatch" movie?
DAVID HASSELHOFF: The biggest problem was scheduling. We wanted to do a reunion movie where we could bring as many cast members back to Hawaii as possible. So the hook was Hawaii, the hook was reunion, the hook was "come back and get together with people you haven't seen in years." But the biggest problem was scheduling and who's doing what and when. This whole movie's being shot upwards, backwards and sideways.
ET: Is anyone from this cast missing, and why?
DAVID:There's a lot of people missing from this cast, and it was mainly by scheduling. Or maybe they've moved on to different parts of their career and they don't really want to be associated with "Baywatch" anymore. It was more or less, kind of a been-there-done-that or they've gone on to other things. That's life.
ET: What did it take for you to get back in shape so you could put your bathing suit back on?
DAVID: I've never really gotten totally out of shape. It was lots of protein, lots of water, just a commitment to actually trying to look better than we did on "Baywatch." Everyone who has come back looks better than we did! It's amazing how good everybody looks. And we all kind of called each other and said I'm getting in great shape. At the end of this show, on September 30th, you're going to see all of us at Haagen Daaz, including me!
ET: Tell me the coolest thing about getting back together with all your castmates.
DAVID: I think the coolest thing is that we all realized how much we took it for granted. And how much we really missed it in a way. It was a family, it was a really close family that lasted a long time. And everybody went off and went through their own trials and tribulations, including myself, and everybody had challenges. Everybody's come back. We're once again looking good, feeling good and on top of the world.
ET: Can you talk about the storyline?
DAVID: The main story in this is what's wrong with Mitch, because he's marrying somebody who looks surprisingly a lot like Stephanie (ALEXANDRA PAUL). And thus ensues all kinds of conflict and fun. Neely comes back, who Mitch was married to. She stills wants Mitch. CJ (PAMELA ANDERSON) comes back, as her fun-loving, bubbly self who kind of throws the party for the wedding. CARMEN ELECTRA comes back and she is hot, hot, hot. She looks like a young ANN MARGARET. We've got love, we've got romance. We've got action. We've got palm trees and no one's running in slow motion!
ET: How much have you enjoyed coming back?
DAVID: I'm having a blast. My room is right by the golf course. There's beautiful women, beautiful sun. My wife was here. It's just beautiful.
ET: How are you feeling since your stop at Betty Ford (rehab center)?
DAVID: I feel fantastic. I realized that one of these days you got to sit back and try to save yourself. I was trying to save the world. I took some time for myself, addressed an issue that was paramount in my life, and took care of it. And I feel fantastic.
ET: How has it changed your life?
DAVID: There's a saying, "God, if I can't have what I want, let me want what I have." And that's basically where I'm at right now -- taking it one day at a time.